LIBRARY     j 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO     J 


15775 


*  L  1  N 
:G 


[I  I  Ultra! 


DVIIBUMA 


FREDERICK    THE    GREAT 
AMUSING    HIMSELF    IN    HIS    OLD    AGE 

From  the  painting  by  J.  L.  Oerome 


MEMOIRS     OF 

THE     COURTS     OF     BERLIN 

AND     ST    PETERSBURG 

BY  COUNT  OF  MIRABEAU 
(Honore  Gabriel  Riqueti) 


With   a    Special   Introduction 
and   Illustrations 


NEW    YORK. 

P    F    COLLIER     &    SON 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright  1910 
BY  P.  F.  COLLIER  &  Sow 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION xi 

LETTER  I.     Recommends    the    Abbe    de    Perigord,    afterward 

Prince  de  Talleyrand 15 

LETTER  II.    Last  illness  of  Frederick  the  Great     ....     17 

LETTER  III.    The  Duke  of  Brunswick,  his  public  and  private 

character        19 

LETTER  IV.     Prospects  in  the  event  of  the  King's  death     .     .     27 

LETTER  V.  Talk  of  an  alliance  between  France,  England,  and 
Prussia.  The  King  dropsical,  but  will  not  give  up  his 
favorite  eel  pies 38 

LETTER  VI.    The   author   receives   a   snub   and   prepares   to 

dissemble 41 

LETTER VII.    Court  gossip;    Frederick  devotes  more  time  to 

pine-apples  than  politics 43 

LETTER  VIII.    Thinks  the  King  cannot  survive  longer  than  two 

months.     The  Heir  Apparent  and  Mademoiselle  Voss    46 

LETTER  IX.     Rumor   that   the   King  of   Sweden   has   turned 

Catholic;  Russian  intrigues 47 

LETTER  X.  The  King  very  unwilling  to  die ;  resents  the  men- 
tion of  dropsy 49 

LETTER  XI.    Erysipelas  and  gangrene  set  in 50 

LETTER  XII.    His  dangerously  voracious  appetite     ....     51 
LETTER  XIII.    Uncertainties  as  to  the  policy  of  the  King-to- 
be  ;  doubtful  if  he  has  system,  understanding,  or  char- 
acter.    The   old   King   eats   of   ten   or   twelve   highly 

seasoned  dishes  at  dinner  every  day 51 

LETTER XIV.  Death  of  Frederick  the  Great;  ate  a  lobster  a 
few  hours  before  the  end ;  the  author's  efforts  to  fore- 
stall the  French  Ambassador  in  sending  the  news  by 

pigeon  express 56 

1 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


4  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

LETTER  XV.    The   new   King  leans    toward   the    French    as 

against  the  English  system 61 

LETTER  XVI.  Prince  Henry  affirms  that  the  King  is  entirely 
French ;  the  will  of  Frederick  the  Great ;  his  affection 
for  his  dogs;  the  new  Ministry 64 

LETTER  XVII.     Character  sketch  of  Prince  Henry ;  the  author 

as  diplomatist 68 

LETTER  XVIII.    The  King  reforms  his  habits,  does  not  look 

at  Mademoiselle  Voss;    is  somewhat  penurious     .     .     72 

LETTER  XIX.    His  favorites;    Goltz  the  Tartar,   Boulet  the 

honest,  Goertz  the  able 75 

CETTER  XX.     Remonstrance  with  the   Due   de  ;    Prince 

Henry  stranded  on  the  rock  of  vanity ;  a  strong  plea  for 
friendly  approaches  to  the  King  by  the  French  govern- 
ment   78 

LETTER  XXI.  The  "gallomania"  of  Prince  Henry  is  preju- 
dicing the  cause  of  France ;  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  the 
coming  strong  man ;  troubles  over  Holland ;  the  King 
ennobles  his  son  by  Madame  Rietz 81 

LETTER  XXII.     The  Duke  plays  with  Prince  Henry;  a  Grand 

Duchess  Delilah ;   manceuvering  for  Russia's  friendship    90 

LETTER  XXIII.     Interment  of  Frederick  the  Great;  neither  in 

taste  nor  splendor  equal  to  state  funerals  in  Paris     .     97 

LETTER  XXIV.     Plea  for  more  active  and  shrewd  diplomacy 

by  France 100 

LETTER  XXV.     A  weak  ruler  and  intriguing  counselors    .     .   102 

LETTER  XXVI.  Stuterheim  and  Gudschmidt,  prudent  Minis- 
ters ;  qualifications  for  successful  diplomatists ;  sketch 
of  the  Elector  of  Bavaria 104 

LETTER  XXVII.  Dufour,  exjourneyman  barber,  his  influence 
over  the  Heir  Apparent;  objections  to  an  Austro- 
Prussian  alliance NX) 

LETTER  XXVIII.  Frederick  the  Great,  his  long  defiance  of  a 

disease  which  would  have  killed  ten  men  .  .  .  .114 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


LETTER  XXIX.    Russia's  project  to  steal  a  march  on  India; 

possible  alliance  between  France  and  England     .     .     .116 

LETTER XXX.  Social  blunder  of  a  clumsy  Princess;  card- 
table  precedence;  the  gay  Madame  de  Vibraye  .  .119 

LETTER  XXXI.  Homage  to  the  new  King;  mischief-making 
amateur  diplomatists;  brawls  and  jealousy  from 
Madame  Rietz 129 

LETTER  XXXII.    King  Frederick  William's  violent  temper; 

plays  the  violoncello;   an  out-and-out  German    .     .     .   135 

LETTER  XXXIII.    An     undesirable     representative;     Austria 

strong  but  weakly  governed 141 

LETTER  XXXIV.  The  author's  laborious  efforts  to  collect 
trustworthy  information ;  reported  accident  to  the 
King;  growing  power  of  the  Duke 144 

LETTER  XXXV.  Concerning  Holland,  Austria,  and  Russia; 
the  Duke  of  York,  a  character  sketch;  English  in- 
solence   150 

LETTER  XXXVI.    The   case  of  the  unfortunate   Lieut.    Col. 

Szekely;    sentenced  and  pardoned 158 

LETTER  XXXVII.    The  Duke  hopes  France  will  act  to  prevent 

war  by  Holland ;  significant  conversation  with  the  Duke  166 

LETTER  XXXVIII.  The  Duke  meditates  the  building  of  a 

German  empire ;  the  King  hastens  to  Mademoiselle  Voss  174 

LETTER  XXXIX.  Secret  orgies  of  the  King;  does  not  hate 
the  French,  does  not  love  any  nation ;  triumph  of  the 
Lady  Voss 179 

LETTER  XL.  Downfall  of  Count  Herzberg;  Launay,  finance 
minister,  retires ;  possibility  of  the  Duke  going  over  to 
the  Emperor 185 

LETTER  XLI.    On  French  finance  and  the  commercial  treaty 

with  England 190 

LETTER  XLII.  Quarrels  in  the  royal  household ;  Madame 
Rietz  and  Mademoiselle  Voss ;  the  Empress  of  Russia 
said  to  drink  too  much  champagne 195 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


LETTER  XLIII.     Empress  Catherine  II.  a  model  of  sobriety; 

secret  suppers  in  the  King's  palace 199 

LETTER  XLIV.  The  King  rises  early ;  his  Court  an  Augean 
stable  without  a  Hercules ;  Prussian  power  rotten 
before  ripe 205 

LETTER  XLV.  Honors  to  the  son  of  a  cookmaid ;  Anhalt 
threatens  to  go  over  to  the  Emperor;  the  baboon-like 
Voss 210 

LETTER  XLVI.  Mirabeau's  aspect  terrifies  the  court ;  is  crip- 
pled pecuniarily;  hopes  for  the  Anglo-French  alliance  217 

LETTER  XLVII.  A  scheming  woman  uses  the  author  to  aid 
her  siege  of  the  King;  suspects  her  as  the  go-between 
of  Mademoiselle  Voss;  the  shade  of  Caesar  at  a  supper  221 

LETTER XLVIII.  The  King  faithful  to  his  old  friends;  sol- 
diers' coats  that  shrank  skin-tight;  army  aristocrats 
and  morals ;  the  King  withdraws  a  threatened  tax  .  .  225 

LETTER  XLIX.  Fear  of  a  coalition  between  Austria  and 
Prussia;  the  King's  debts;  the  questionable  Madame 
de  F 233 

LETTER  L.     Discontent  of  the  army ;  the  tobacco  monopoly ; 

free  speech  in  peril ;   the  divorced  consort  of  the  King  238 

LETTER  LI.  Industry  and  commerce  in  Prussia ;  urges  the 
natural  force  of  reciprocity  between  France  and  Eng- 
land ;  indolence  of  the  King ;  a  plea  for  La  Grange  .  .  246 

LETTER  LII.  A  mysterious  messenger ;  Baron  Nolde,  a  friend 
of  France;  a  left-handed  marriage  for  Mademoiselle 
Voss;  the  King's  four  sorts  of  children;  rascally 
courtiers 254 

LETTER  LIII.  The  King  and  his  ministers,  meddling  and 
muddling ;  the  mystics  in  favor ;  manuscripts  of  Fred- 
erick the  Great 265 

LETTER  LIV.  Character  of  the  King,  deceitful,  vain,  avari- 
cious ;  the  leading  courtiers  libertines,  shallow  flatterers, 
and  adventurers 272 


CONTENTS  7 

PAGE 

LETTER  LV.  The  Queen  bribed  to  consent  to  the  King's 
marriage  with  Mademoiselle  Voss;  prodigal  yet  not 
generous;  building  at  Potsdam 280 

LETTER  LVI.  Sketch  of  the  King's  officers ;  new  taxes 
imposed,  the  King  orders  his  subjects  to  be  numbered; 
the  ladies  Rietz  and  Voss  and  the  screen  scene  .  .  284 

LETTER  LVII.    The  cup  of  Circe  filled  with  beer;  the  magic  of 

a  yellow  riband ;    court  snarls ;    troubles  in  the  silk  trade  290 

LETTER  LVIII.  Madame  Rietz  asks  for  an  estate;  Corporal 
Schlag ;  Prince  Henry  discouraged ;  the  kingdom 
neglected  because  the  King  is  in  love 296 

LETTER  LIX.  The  peculiarities  of  Count  Nostitz ;  Madame 
Rietz  wants  a  Margraviate;  gambling  forbidden;  the 
land  question 301 

LETTER  LX.  The  Queen  blind  to  her  husband's  amours ;  the 
Prince  Royal  an  echo  of  Frederick  the  Great ;  unfair 
treatment  of  Launay ;  pays  a  debt  incurred  by  Frederick 
the  Great  when  Prince 306 

LETTER  LXI.  Miscellaneous  distribution  of  honors;  the 
questionable  marriage  deferred;  memorial  against  the 
capitation  tax 311 

LETTER  LXI  I.  The  Dutch  envoy  makes  overtures  to  Mira- 
beau ;  delicate  position  of  affairs  between  France, 
Prussia,  and  Holland;  hopeless  confusion  around  the 
King  .  . 320 

LETTER LXIII.  Affairs  in  Russia;  more  gossip  about  the 
suspended  marriage;  difficulty  of  suppressing  lotto; 
Launay  departs  incognito 332 

LETTER  LXIV.  Gambling  with  Poland ;  Frederick  the  Great 
negotiates  a  loan  by  the  gift  of  a  smoked  salmon; 
Voltaire  expected  a  famous  diamond  and  got  a  keg  of 
wine;  Mirabeau  demands  adequate  recognition  of  his 
services 337 

LETTER LXV.  A  Sans  Souci  house  for  Mademoiselle  Voss; 
prospects  of  her  growing  power;  smuggling  the  King 
into  heaven  under  the  bishop's  coat  tail 346 


8  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


LETTER  LXVI.  Mirabeau's  final  letter ;  endowing  Mademoi- 
selle Voss ;  new  taxes  on  cards,  wines,  oysters,  etc. ; 
the  outlook 354 

APPENDIX.  Memorial  presented  to  Frederick  William  II., 
King  of  Prussia,  on  the  Day  of  his  Accession  to  the 
Throne,  by  Comte  de  Mirabeau. 

This  was  published  as  the  author's  reply  to  the 
accusation  of  having  "presented  the  reigning  King  of 
Prussia  with  a  libel  against  the  immortal  Frederick 
II." 357-398 


INTRODUCTION 

A  TWOFOLD  interest  centres  in  this  vomme  of  secret 
history  written  by  the  Comte  de  Mirabeau, — the  inter- 
est attaching  to  its  remarkable  author  no  less  than  to 
the  work  itself. 

"Mirabeau!"  exclaims  Victor  Hugo.  "It  is  not  a 
man,  not  a  nation,  but  an  event  which  speaks — an  im- 
mense event — the  fall  of  the  Monarchy  of  France. 
His  entry  into  public  life  was  a  veritable  event.  It 
was  Revolution  which  accompanied  him  on  the  stage." 

Widely  famed  as  author,  statesman,  orator,  letter- 
writer  and  roue;  in  turn  the  favourite  and  sport  of 
fortune ;  buried  by  the  French  nation  and  mourned  by 
all  Paris  as  one  of  her  illustrious  dead,  and  two  years 
later  his  body  taken  from  its  honoured  place  in  the 
Pantheon  and  flung  into  a  common  grave,  to  make 
room  for  Marat, — this  surely  was  no  common  man! 

His  life  is  a  record  more  enthralling  than  fiction. 
He  has  inspired  playwright  and  novelist.  From  birth 
to  death  all  may  read  him  as  an  open  letter,  in  which 
we  have  preserved  the  turbulent  gamut  of  passion  and 
ambition  through  which  he  ran.  He  was  the  product 
of  Revolution,  that  Revolution  which  saw  Louis 
Capet  and  his  queen  bow  their  proud  heads  to  the  will 
of  a  frenzied  people. 

Honore  Gabriel  Riqueti,  Comte  de  Mirabeau,  was 
born  at  Bignon,  near  Nemours,  France,  in  1749.  His 
father  was  a  well-known  writer  on  political  economy, 
and  the  son  inherited  a  natural  talent  for  politics,  and 

9 


io  INTRODUCTION 

a  natural  genius  for  oratory.  He  was,  however,  the 
ugly  duckling  of  the  family,  being  a  wild  dissipated 
youth  of  unpleasing  exterior.  His  father  endeavoured 
to  correct  the  faults  of  character  by  severe  discipline, 
and  finally  caused  the  young  man  to  be  imprisoned. 
But  upon  each  release  Honore  plunged  into  new  ex- 
cesses. He  was  especially  noted  for  a  succession  of 
scandalous  amours,  despite  his  ugliness  of  feature. 
"Never  was  there  child  more  ugly  in  face  and 
feature,"  says  one  biographer;  "nor  more  passionate 
and  uncontrollable.  Nature  seemed  to  have  played  a 
prank  on  the  world  in  producing  him.  He  defied  law, 
morals,  authority;  and  because  of  defiance  was  sent 
by  his  father'to  the  dungeons  of  Castles  If,  and  Joux, 
and  Vincennes,  in  hopes  of  his  death  by  sickness,  or 
starvation,  or  despair,  or  suicide.  Yet  from  each  he 
managed  to  get  release,  and  ever  through  grosser 
immoralities  as  would  now  be  said;  through  intrigue, 
and  friendship,  and  the  collusion  of  officials,  as  was 
said  then."  With  escape  came  fresh  problems — flight 
into  Switzerland,  or  England,  or  Holland.  And  the 
worst  of  it  was  that  he  was  not  always  alone.  Per- 
haps it  was  the  young  wife  of  an  old  marquis  whom 
he  persuaded  to  accompany  him — the  "Sophie"  to 
whom  he  dedicated  a  volume  of  passionate  epistles; 
again  it  may  have  been  the  wife  of  an  army  officer, 
or  only  some  poor  misguided  girl  who  followed  him 
despite  his  ugliness  and  the  poverty  which  dogged  his 
footsteps.  , 

To  support  himself  in  this  precarious  roving  life  he 
turned  to  writing.  He  issued  pamphlets,  on  the 
"Order  of  Cincinnatus,"  the  "Bank  of  Spain,"  the 
"Bank  of  Discount,"  the  "Water  Company  of  Paris," 
and  many  more.  Those  attacking  the  rotten  system 
of  French  finance  had  the  merit  of  being  true  and 
were  instrumental  in  bringing  about  needed  reform, 


INTRODUCTION  n 

but  they  also  caused  yet  another  flight  on  the  part 
of  the  author  to  prevent  arrest. 

At  the  age  of  thirty-one  he  had  sowed  most  of  his 
wild  oats  and  was  done  with  prison  life.  He  now 
set  himself  earnestly  in  the  current  of  political  life, 
and  endeavoured  to  curry  favor  with  the  authorities, 
in  hope  of  being  given  some  prominent  post.  He 
found,  however,  that  he  had  created  a  following  for 
himself  more  powerful  than  officialdom.  His  pam- 
phlets on  finance  had  been  widely  read.  During  his 
imprisonment  he  had  restlessly  written  an  essay  on 
"Despotism"  and  a  daring  booklet  entitled  "Lettres- 
de-Cachet."  These  attacks  upon  the  monarchy  were 
quickly  suppressed.  But  the  times  were  ripe  for  them 
and  they  passed  from  hand  to  hand  and  mouth  to 
mouth.  The  spirit  of  Revolution  was  beginning  to 
assert  itself,  and  the  new  party  was  looking  upon 
Mirabeau  as  one  of  its  chosen  leaders. 

To  escape  a  clash  with  the  ruling  powers  he  went 
to  England  in  1784,  where  his  brilliance  in  writing 
and  speaking  won  him  friends,  and  also  gave  him 
entrance  into  literary  and  political  clubs  where  he 
gained  many  ideas.  Upon  his  return  to  France  he 
made  his  peace  with  the  Minister,  M.  de  Vergennes, 
who  evidently  saw  use  for  Mirabeau's  peculiar  talents 
abroad  rather  than  at  home,  for  he  was  sent  in  1786 
upon  a  secret  mission  to  Prussia,  with  the  aim  of  re- 
porting to  the  Ministry  the  effect  which  would  be 
produced  in  Prussia  by  the  expected  death  of  Fred- 
erick the  Great ;  and  also  to  sound  the  inclinations  and 
temper  of  Frederick's  successor. 

With  his  usual  "push,"  Mirabeau  made  his  way 
into  the  good  graces  of  the  aged  king,  was  present  at 
his  death,  and  at  the  inauguration  of  Frederick  Wil- 
liam II.  With  characteristic  boldness  he  wrote  a 
memorial  to  the  new  ruler  giving  him  some  advice 


12  INTRODUCTION 

upon  conduct  and  reform — a  pamphlet  of  some  84 
closely  written  pages  from  a  past  master  in  the  sub- 
ject !  Whether  the  recipient  profited  by  all  this  gra- 
tuitous advice,  history  does  not  say.  But  Frederick 
William  had  no  particular  love  for  Mirabeau,  who 
remained  at  the  Court  for  only  a  few  months  (until 
January,  1787). 

It  was  during  this  time  that  he  wrote  to  M.  de 
Calonne  the  remarkable  series  of  letters  now  known  to 
English  readers  as  "Memoirs  of  the  Courts  of  Berlin 
and  St.  Petersburg."  They  sum  up  with  much  accuracy 
the  personal  traits  of  the  dying  Frederick  the  Great, 
and  the  character  of  his  successor,  Frederick  William 
II.  Included  in  them  also  are  many  personal  details 
of  the  inner  life  of  Catherine  II.  of  Russia,  whose 
career,  he  intimates,  is  tarnished  with  the  breath  of 
scandal.  The  whole  series  of  66  letters,  in  fact,  is 
written  in  a  satirical  vein  and  with  the  outspoken 
brusqueness  and  lack  of  sympathy  for  which  the  writer 
was  always  noted.  Hence  it  created  an  uproar  when, 
in  1789,  it  was  published  under  the  title  of  "Histoire 
secrete  de  Cour  de  Berlin,  on  correspondance  d'un 
voyageur  frangais  depuis  le  mois  Juillet,  1786,  jusqu'a 
19  Janvier,  1787"  ("Secret  History  of  the  Court  of 
Berlin,  or  letters  of  a  French  traveller,  from  July, 
1786,  to  January  19,  1787"). 

The  work,  while  giving  an  excellent  insight  into  the 
methods  of  foreign  courts,  useful  views,  and  highly 
interesting  observations,  created  such  a  scandal  at  the 
time,  that  parliament  was  forced  to  order  it  burned 
by  the  hand  of  the  public  executioner.  The  king's 
advocate  in  a  speech  against  the  book,  February  10, 
1789  (still  preserved  in  the  Parliamentary  Register), 
said :  "Frederick  II,  whose  name  alone  was  sufficient 
to  preserve  that  balance  of  power  which  assured  to 
Europe  general  peace  and  happiness,  still  reigned. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

But  the  prince  was  fast  declining.  It  was  at  the 
moment  that  the  self-styled  'Voyageur  francos'  en- 
deavoured to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  greatest  per- 
sonages of  the  state,  in  order  to  gather  any  stray 
scraps  of  conversation,  and  to  endeavour,  in  the 
midst  of  the  trouble  and  commotion  caused  by  the 
unforeseen  changes  of  a  new  ruler,  to  surprise  minis- 
terial secrets,  to  detect  the  aims  and  ambitions  of  the 
nobles,  to  expose  the  intrigues  of  courtesans,  and  to 
fathom  the  plots  of  the  Court. 

"It  is  not  enough  to  have  showered  invectives  on 
the  uncle  of  the  new  king,  the  king  himself,  his 
august  family,  the  princesses  of  the  blood  and  the 
ministry;  in  fact  the  whole  court  is  treated  with  such 
a  criminal  indecency  that  we  should  blush  to  repeat 
the  infamous  expressions  of  \v»hich  the  author  has 
made  use." 

This  arraignment,  as  the  reader  may  suspect,  was 
dictated  from  motives  of  royal  policy.  Louis  upon 
his  tottering  throne  could  not  afford  to  pass  by  free- 
spoken  criticism  of  a  neighbouring  court  in  silence. 
Such  material  was  dangerous,  and  the  book  was  ac- 
cordingly destroyed.  The  original  manuscript,  how- 
ever, was  stolen  from  the  royal  archives,  sold  to 
Malassis,  a  printer  of  Alengon,  and  published  by  him 
as  a  work  by  "an  unknown  traveller  who  had  died  a 
year  previous  in  Germany."  Several  editions,  total- 
ling 20,000  copies,  were  quickly  issued  to  meet  the 
wide-spread  demand;  and  a  few  months  later  it  was 
translated  into  English.  It  was  not,  however,  until 
Mirabeau  attained  his  larger  fame  as  the  head  of  the 
Revolution,  and  the  offended  authorities  were  no  more, 
that  his  name  was  placed  upon  the  work  as  author. 

In  respect  to  the  charges  of  the  king's  advocate  and 
others,  that  the  work  includes  scandalous  revelations 
and  other  confidential  material,  it  must  be  remembered 


14  INTRODUCTION 

that  the  "Secret  History"  covers  precisely  the  ground 
it  was  intended  to  cover.  Mirabeau  was  sent  upon  a 
secret  mission  to  report  all  he  saw  at  Court.  This  he 
did,  conscientiously,  in  letters  addressed  to  a  single 
individual,  and  not  intended,  at  the  time,  for  publica- 
tion. Indeed,  it  has  been  asserted  that  their  issue  in 
book  form  was  entirely  contrary  to  the  author's 
wishes.  He  had  busied  himself,  also,  while  in  Berlin 
upon  a  lengthy  study  of  the  "Prussian  Monarchy," 
published  in  1788,  to  which  he  proposed  to  give  his 
name,  and  which  gave  proof  of  his  far-reaching  grasp 
of  matters  political,  financial,  and  legislative. 

It  is  in  these  letters,  however,  that  he  has  preserved 
for  us  an  interesting  epoch  in  European  life.  The 
great  Frederick  was  passing  away.  The  Court  of 
France  was  crumbling.  All  was  unrest  and  upheaval, 
and  Mirabeau  by  tongue  and  pen  was  a  vital  influence. 
In  these  historical  memoirs  he  is  consistently  himself, 
revealing  his  own  personality  quite  as  much  as  the 
court  life  he  describes.  He  has  preserved  the  reputa- 
tion of  telling  the  truth,  and  it  was  this  trait  which 
made  him  the  great  popular  leader  of  later  years. 

After  reading  the  memoirs  of  his  checkered  life, 
written  by  his  contemporaries,  Goethe  exclaimed :  "At 
last  the  wonderful  Mirabeau  becomes  natural  to  us, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  hero  loses  nothing  of  his 
greatness!  ....  The  French  look  upon  Mirabeau 
as  their  Hercules,  and  they  are  perfectly  right.  But 
they  forget  that  even  the  Colossus  consists  of  individual 
parts,  and  that  the  Hercules  of  antiquity  is  a  collective 
being — a  gigantic  personification  of  deeds  done  by 
himself  and  by  others." 


MEMOIRS  OF 

THE   COURTS   OF   BERLIN 
AND  ST.   PETERSBURG 

LETTER    I 

July  5th,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  the  honor  to  write  to  you  by  the 
first  post,  to  inform  you  that  the  Berlin  mail,  for 
which  I  waited  before  I  would  enter  my  car- 
riage, has  brought  me  no  letter.  It  is  possible,  but  not 
probable,  that  the  letter  of  my  correspondent  has  been 
sent  too  late  for  the  post.  It  is  also  possible,  and  very 
likely,  nay,  if  the  Comte  de  Vergennes  has  received  no 
intelligence  it  is  almost  certain,  that  the  great  event 
either  approaches  or  is  past;  for  I  hold  it  as  infallible 
that,  when  death  becomes  inevitable,  the  couriers  will 
be  stopped.  This,  sir,  deeply  engages  my  attention, 
and  I  shall  hasten  with  all  expedition  to  Brunswick, 
where  I  shall  gain  certain  information;  there  I  shall 
remain  several  days  if  the  King  is  living. 

I  have  at  present  only  to  add,  I  shall  think  no  labor, 
time,  or  trouble  too  great  if  I  can  but  serve  you,  mon- 
sieur, and  the  cause  of  the  public. 

I  shall  not  repeat  any  of  our  conversations,  but  shall 
take  the  liberty  to  offer  you  my  advice,  solely  founded 
on  my  personal  attachment;  of  which  you  cannot 
doubt,  since,  independent  of  that  amiable  seduction 
which  you  exercise  with  power  so  irresistible,  our 

is 


16         MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

interests  are  the  same.  The  torrent  of  your  affairs, 
the  activity  of  cabals,  the  efforts  of  every  kind  which 
you  so  prodigally  are  obliged  to  make,  render  it  im- 
possible that  you  should  yourself  class  and  arrange 
the  grand  projects  which  your  genius  has  brought  to 
maturity,  and  which  are  ready  to  bud  and  bloom.  You 
have  testified  some  regret  that  I,  for  the  present,  de- 
clined performing  this  office  for  you.  Permit  me 
therefore,  monsieur,  to  name  a  person  who  is,  in  every 
respect,  worthy  of  this  mark  of  your  confidence. 

The  Abbe  de  Perigord,  to  consummate  and  practical 
abilities,  joins  profound  circumspection  and  inviolable 
secrecy.  You  never  can  select  a  man  more  to  be  de- 
pended upon ;  or  one  who  will  with  more  fervent  piety 
bow  before  the  shrine  of  gratitude  and  friendship; 
who  will  be  more  anxiously  active  in  good,  less  covet- 
ous of  others'  fame,  or  one  with  superior  conviction 
that  fame  is  justly  due  to  him,  only,  who  has  the  power 
to  conceive  and  the  -fortitude  to  execute. 

He  possesses  another  advantage.  His  ascendency 
over  Panchaud  represses  the  defects  of  the  latter, 
which  have  been  so  described  to  you  as  to  inspire 
fears,  and  sets  all  his  great  qualities  and  uncommon 
talents,  which  daily  become  more  necessary  to  you,  in 
action.  There  is  no  man  who  can  guide  and  rule  M. 
Panchaud  like  the  Abbe  de  Perigord,  who  will  mo- 
mentarily become  more  valuable  to  you  the  better  to 
effect  a  grand  money  measure,  without  which  no  other 
measures  can  be  effected.  You  may  confide  that  deli- 
cate business  to  the  Abbe  de  Perigord,  which,  espe- 
cially in  the  present  moment,  ought  not  to  be  trusted 
to  clerks.  The  noble,  the  enlightened,  the  civic  pro- 
ject of  drawing  inferences  from  the  numerous  false 
statements  that  infest  the  accounts  of  Ministers  (and 
which,  being  compared  to  the  true  statements,  caused, 
or  rather  obliged,  the  King  to  determine  that  decisive 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG         17 

measures  should  give  France  a  national  credit,  and 
consequently  a  legal  constitution)  cannot  be  better 
realized  than  by  the  joint  labors  of  these  two  persons. 
One  of  them  has  long  been  devoted  to  you;  and  the 
other  will  be,  whenever  any  single  act  of  benevolence 
shall  excite  his  emulation.  Condescend  to  believe, 
monsieur,  that  you  cannot  act  more  to  your  own 
interest. 

I  was  desirous  of  writing  thus  to-night,  because  it 
would  neither  be  delicate  nor  decent  for  the  person 
interested  to  read  what  I  have  written ;  and  this  letter 
is  the  last  you  will  receive  that  must  not  pass  through 
the  hands  of  a  third  person.  My  attachment,  mon- 
sieur, to  you,  and  your  fame,  induces  me  to  hope  you 
will  place  some  confidence  in  this  counsel,  if  I  may  so 
venture  to  call  it ;  and  that  it  will  not  be  ranked  among 
the  least  of  the  proofs  of  the  most  devoted  respect 
with  which  I  am,  etc. 


LETTER  II 

BRUNSWICK,  July  12th,  1786. 

THAT  the  King  is  very  ill  is  very  certain;  but  he  is 
not  at  the  point  of  death.  Zimmermann,  the  famous 
Hanoverian  physician,  whom  he  sent  for,  has  declared 
that,  if  he  would  be  careful,  he  might  still  live;  but  he 
is  incorrigible  on  the  article  of  abstinence.  He  still 
mounts  his  horse,  and  he  even  trotted  fifty  paces  some 
days  since,  with  a  man  on  each  side  of  him;  but  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  he  has  the  dropsy;  and  in  real- 
ity, he  has  not  been  any  better  since  my  departure. 

I  shall  not  see  the  reigning  Duke  of  Brunswick 
before  this  evening;  he  is  in  the  country.  He  has 
powerfully  supported  the  election  which  the  Chapters 


i8 

of  Hildesheim  and  Paderborn  have  lately  made  of  a 
coadjutor.  M.  Furstemberg  has  been  elected.  Vi- 
enna caballed  exceedingly  in  favor  of  the  Archduke 
Maximilian.  It  appears  that  the  Duke  wishes  to  pro- 
mote peace,  since  he  endeavors,  by  every  means,  to 
strengthen  the  Germanic  confederation,  which  cer- 
tainly has  that  only  for  its  end,  though  the  means 
may  give  room  for  reflection.  I  have  my  reasons  for 
being  of  that  opinion,  which  I  shall  explain  on  some 
other  occasion.  To-day  I  am  at  the  mercy  of  the 
courier. 

Parties  are  very  busy  at  Berlin;  especially  that  of 
Prince  Henry,  who  is  eternally  eager,  without  well 
knowing  what  he  wishes.  But  all  is  silence  in  the 
King's  presence;  he  still  is  King,  and  so  will  remain 
to  the  last  moment. 

As  the  immediate  death  of  the  King  is  not  expected, 
I  shall  continue  at  Brunswick  some  days,  in  order  to 
prepare  him  for  my  return  (much  more  premature 
than  I  had  announced)  and  that  I  may  more  nearly 
study  the  Duke. 

The  coinage  continues  to  be  an  object  of  contention, 
and  exaggerated  discredit.  I  think  it  would  be  of  use 
to  publish  apologetic  reasons  concerning  the  gold  coin, 
confessing  its  too  high  rate  (for  wherefore  deny  that 
which  is  demonstrated?);  and  justificatory  proofs, 
relative  to  the  silver,  the  crowns  of  sixty-nine,  and 
those  since  1784,  still  remaining  prohibited. 

You  no  doubt  know  that  the  Duke,  Louis  of  Bruns- 
wick, has  quitted  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  is  retired  to 
Eisenach.  The  troubles  of  that  petty  republic  may 
perhaps  explain  his  retreat ;  but  these  do  not  seem  to 
me  sufficient  motives  for  his  new  abode,  and  for  this 
single  reason,  that  the  Duchess  of  Weymar  is  his 
niece. 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG         19 
LETTER  III 

July  i^th,  1786. 

I  DINED  and  supped  yesterday  with  the  Duke.  When 
we  rose  from  table,  after  dinner,  he  took  me  aside  to 
the  window,  where  we  conversed  for  about  two  hours, 
with  much  reserve  at  first,  on  his  part,  afterward  with 
more  openness,  and  at  last  with  an  evident  desire  to  be 
thought  sincere. 

An  expression  of  esteem  for  the  Comte  de  Ver- 
gennes,  and  fear  for  his  approaching  retreat,  gave 
occasion  to  this  private  conversation.  The  expression 
alluded  to  was  immediately  followed  by  the  question 
(which  was  asked  in  a  tone  of  affected  indifference, 
and  betrayed  a  very  strong  degree  of  curiosity),  "  No 
doubt  M.  de  Breteuil  will  be  his  successor  ?  "  The 
Duchess  was  of  our  party.  I  answered,  lowering  my 
voice,  but  articulating  with  great  firmness,  "  I  hope 
and  believe  not."  It  was  after  I  had  said  this  that  he 
led  me  to  the  window,  at  the  far  end  of  the  apartment 
He  presently  began  to  converse,  with  all  the  energy 
which  his  slowness  and  native  dignity  admit,  of  the 
inquietude  which  the  Germanic  body  could  not  avoid 
feeling,  should  M.  de  Breteuil,  who  was  at  the  head  of 
the  Austrian  party,  and  who  has  long  been  a  servant 
and  friend  of  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna,  succeed  to  the 
place  of  first  Minister. 

I  replied  (speaking  of  the  Comte  de  Vergennes  with 
every  respect,  and  of  the  generous  and  pacific  inten- 
tions of  the  King  with  great  confidence)  that,  should 
the  Comte  de  Vergennes  retire,  it  would  probably  be 
of  his  own  free  will;  and  that  no  one  would  have 
greater  influence  than  himself  in  the  choice  of  his  suc- 
cessor; that  consequently,  whether  he  remained  in 
office  or  went  out,  the  first  Minister  would  not  be  of 


20        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

the  Austrian  party;  and,  though  most  assuredly  the 
probity  of  the  King,  and  the  morale  of  his  politics, 
would  continue  to  render  the  connections  between  the 
Courts  of  Vienna  and  Versailles  respected,  as  they 
would  all  others,  yet,  that  the  interest  of  Europe,  and 
of  France  in  particular,  was  so  intimately  united  to 
the  continuance  of  peace,  that  these  connections,  far 
from  inciting  war,  could  but  contribute  to  render 
peace  durable;  that  France  was  sufficiently  puissant, 
from  innate  strength  and  from  the  state  of  her  affairs, 
honorably  to  own  that  she  dreaded  war,  which  she 
would  take  every  care  to  shun;  that  I  did  not  think 
sudden  war  probable,  especially  when,  studying  the 
administration  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  I  perceived 
that  he  had  performed  his  duties,  of  Prince  and  father, 
with  so  much  assiduity  and  success;  that,  however 
natural  it  might  be  for  man  to  seek  that  career,  in 
which  he  was  indubitably  the  first,  I  could  not  believe 
he  (the  Duke)  would  sacrifice  to  the  desire  of  military 
renown,  so  much  of  which  he  had  already  acquired, 
his  favorite  work,  his  real  enjoyments,  and  the  inher- 
itance of  his  children;  that  all  circumstances  called 
him  to  supreme  influence  over  the  affairs  of  Prussia 
after  the  death  of  the  great  King,  and  that,  Prussia 
being  at  this  time  the  pivot  on  which  continental  war 
or  peace  were  balanced,  he  (the  Duke  of  Brunswick) 
would  almost  singly  decide  which  was  to  ensue;  that 
he  had  formerly  sufficiently  shone  the  hero  of  war, 
and  that  I  was  convinced  he  would  hereafter  remain 
the  angel  of  peace. 

He  then  forcibly  denied  ever  having  been  fond  of 
war;  even  at  the  time  when  he  had  been  most  fort- 
unate. He  showed,  independent  of  his  principles,  how 
ardently  his  family  and  personal  interest  would  induce 
him  to  beware  of  war.  "  And  if  it  were  necessary," 
added  he,  "in  an  affair  so  important,  to  consult  noth- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        21 

ing  further  than  the  despicable  gratification  of  self- 
love,  do  I  not  know  how  much  war  is  the  sport  of 
chance?  I  have  formerly  not  been  unfortunate.  I 
might  hereafter  be  a  better  general,  and  yet  might  not 
have  the  same  success.  No  prudent  man,  especially 
one  who  is  advanced  in  life,  will  risk  his  reputation  in 
so  hazardous  a  pursuit,  if  it  may  be  avoided." 

This  part  of  his  discourse,  which  was  long,  ani- 
mated, energetic,  and  evidently  sincere,  was  preceded 
by  a  phrase  of  etiquette  and  remonstrance,  in  which  he 
assured  me  that  he  never  should  possess,  and  was  far 
from  desiring  to  possess,  any  influence  in  Prussia. 
To  this  phrase  I  reverted;  and,  by  a  rapid  sketch, 
proving  to  him  that  I  was  well  acquainted  with  Ber- 
lin, the  principal  actors  there,  and  the  present  state 
of  men  and  things,  I  demonstrated  (which  he  most 
certainly  knows  better  than  I  do)  that  his  interest,  the 
interest  of  his  house,  of  Germany,  and  of  Europe, 
made  it  a  duty  in  him  to  take  the  helm  of  State  in 
Prussia ;  to  preserve  that  kingdom  from  the  hurricane 
most  fatal  to  States,  the  strength  of  which  principally 
depends  upon  opinion.  I  mean  from  petty  intrigues, 
petty  passions,  and  want  of  stability  and  consistency 
of  system.  "  Your  personal  dignity,"  added  I,  "which 
is  truly  immense,  and  a  thousand  times  more  elevated 
than  your  rank,  however  eminent  that  may  be,  no 
doubt  forbids  you  to  tender  your  services;  but  it  is 
your  duty,  I  will  not  say  not  to  refuse,  no,  I  repeat,  it  is 
your  duty  to  take  measures,  and  employ  all  your  abil- 
ities, all  your  powers,  to  gain  an  ascendency  over  the 
successor,  and  to  seize  the  direction  of  affairs." 

This  mode  of  treatment  greatly  developed  the  man. 
He  spoke  with  truth,  and  consequently  with  a  degree 
of  confidence,  of  Berlin.  He  told  me  Count  Hertz- 
berg  had  not  let  him  remain  ignorant  of  our  intimacy; 
he  depicted  many  of  the  persons  who  have  influence, 


22        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

such  as  I  know  them  to  be.  I  clearly  saw  that  there 
was  a  coolness,  founded  on  some  unknown  subject, 
between  him  and  the  Prince  of  Prussia;  that  he  (the 
Duke  of  Brunswick)  neither  loved  nor  esteemed 
Prince  Henry;  and  that  his  (the  Duke's)  party  was 
as  powerfully  formed  as  it  could  be,  in  a  country  hith- 
erto little  in  the  habit  of  cabal,  but  which,  perhaps,  will 
presently  be  initiated.  I  purposely  assumed  much 
faith  in  the  warlike  dispositions  of  the  Cabinet  of 
Berlin.  The  Duke  gave  good  proofs  that,  independent 
of  the  Heir  Apparent,  who,  though  personally  brave, 
was  not  warlike,  as  well  because  of  his  manners  and 
habits  as  of  his  prodigious  stature,  it  would  be  mad- 
ness to  begin ;  that  the  moment  of  acquisition  by  arms, 
which,  perhaps,  still  was  necessary  to  Prussia,  was  not 
yet  come;  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  consolidate, 
etc.,  etc.  All  this  was  very  serious,  very  sensible,  and 
very  circumstantial. 

The  Oriental  system,  Russia,  Poland,  Courland,  all 
passed  in  review. 

They  still  have  their  fears  concerning  the  Oriental 
system;  that  is  to  say,  concerning  the  part  that  we 
might  take.  They  seem  to  believe  that  Russia  will 
never  powerfully  second  the  Emperor,  except  in  sup- 
port of  the  Oriental  system,  and  whatever  may  con- 
tribute to  its  success.  Poland  is  to  reconstruct.  We 
remitted  speaking  of  it,  as  well  as  of  Courland.  Sud- 
denly, and  by  a  very  abrupt  transition  (it  seems  to  me 
he  employs  transitions  to  surprise  the  secrets  of  those 
with  whom  he  converses,  and  on  whom  he  earnestly 
fixes  his  eyes  while  he  listens),  he  asked  what  I  meant 
to  do  at  Berlin.  "Complete  my  knowledge  of  the 
North,"  answered  I,  "  which  I  have  had  little  oppor- 
tunity of  studying,  except  at  that  city;  since  Vienna 
and  Petersburg  are  to  me  forbidden  places.  And  who 
knows?  We  always  presume  on  our  own  powers. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        23 

It  may  be  hoped  that,  the  subject  being  so  grand,  the 
soul  may  elevate  the  genius.  I,  perhaps,  shall  dare  to 
snatch  the  portrait  of  Caesar  from  the  daubers  who 
are  so  eager  to  besmear."  This  answer  seemed  satis- 
factory. I  found  it  easy  to  interlard  my  discourse 
with  agreeable  compliments.  I  told  him  he  had  rather 
conquered  than  vanquished  us;  that  we  regarded  the 
fate  of  Germany  as  resting  on  his  shoulders,  etc.,  etc. ; 
and  that,  therefore,  the  design  of  writing  the  most 
brilliant  history  of  the  age  in  which  I  lived  had  placed 
me,  even  before  I  was  acquainted  with  him,  in  the 
rank  of  one  of  his  most  ardent  admirers.  I  know  not 
whether  he  did  or  did  not  believe  that  I  solely  occupied 
myself  with  literature;  but  the  supposition  that  I  shall 
write  history  will  perhaps  render  him  more  accessible 
to  me,  and  acquire  me  more  of  his  confidence;  for  he 
appears  to  possess  the  love,  and  even  the  jealousy,  of 
fame  to  the  utmost  degree. 

I  am  pressed  by  the  courier  because,  not  having 
quitted  the  Court  all  yesterday,  I  could  not  write  be- 
fore this  morning;  and  the  courier  departs  at  eleven 
o'clock.  Writing  in  cipher  is  very  tedious ;  I  therefore 
omit  a  thousand  particulars  which  lead  me  to  believe — 

1.  That  the  English  will  not,  by  any  means,  be  so 
quickly  successful  in  their  artifices  in  the  North  as 
might  be  feared;  if  the  Court  of  Berlin  may  at  all 
depend  on  the  Court  of  Versailles. 

2.  That  it  is  time  to  speak  a  little  more  openly  to 
the  former;  and  not  to  confound  mystery  and  secrecy, 
finesse  and  prudence,  ambiguity  and  policy. 

3.  That  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  whom  I  believe  to 
be  by  much  the  most  able  Prince  of  Germany,  is  sin- 
cerely desirous  of  peace ;  and  that  he  will  inspire  the 
Cabinet  of  Berlin  with  the  same  sentiments,  if  but  the 
least  restraint  be  laid  on  the  Emperor;  who,  said  he  to 
me,  has  spoken  in  outrageous  terms,  in  the  presence 


24        MEMOIRS   OF   THE   COURTS   OF 

of  seven  or  eight  witnesses  besides  myself,  of  the 
Prince  of  Prussia. 

4.  That  the  intention  of  the  Duke  is  to  govern 
Prussia,  and  to  obtain  great  confidence  and  superior 
influence  in  Europe;  that  he  would  dread  lest  these 
would  not  be  augmented  by  war,  which  he  is  convinced 
ought  to  be  avoided,  at  Berlin;  and  that  war  is  not 
really  to  be  feared,  except  as  far  as  France  shall  en- 
courage the  Emperor,  who  without  us  will  not  be  any- 
thing. 

I  have  not  time  to-day  to  give  more  than  a  sketch 
of  the  Duke  such  as  he  appears  to  me,  who  certainly 
will  not  be  thought  a  common  man  even  among  men 
of  merit.  His  person  bespeaks  depth  and  penetration, 
a  desire  to  please  tempered  by  fortitude,  nay  by  sever- 
ity. He  is  polite  to  affectation ;  speaks  with  precision, 
and  with  a  degree  of  elegance;  but  he  is  somewhat  too 
careful  to  speak  thus,  and  the  proper  word  sometimes 
escapes  him.  He  understands  the  art  of  listening,  and 
of  interrogating  according  to  the  very  spirit  of  reply. 
Praise,  gracefully  embellished  and  artfully  concealed, 
he  finds  agreeable.  He  is  prodigiously  laborious,  well 
informed,  and  perspicuous.  However  able  his  first 
Minister  Feronce  may  be,  the  Duke  superintends  all 
affairs,  and  generally  decides  for  himself.  His  cor- 
respondence is  immense,  for  which  he  can  only  be 
indebted  to  his  personal  consideration ;  because  he  can- 
not be  sufficiently  wealthy  to  keep  so  many  corre- 
spondents in  pay;  and  few  great  Courts  are  so  well 
informed  as  he  is.  All  his  affairs  are  in  excellent  or- 
der. He  became  the  reigning  Duke  of  Brunswick  in 
1780,  and  found  his  principality  loaded  with  debts,  to 
the  amount  of  forty  millions  of  livres.  His  adminis- 
tration has  been  such  that,  with  a  revenue  of  about 
one  hundred  thousand  louis,  and  a  sinking  fund  in 
which  he  has  deposited  the  savings  of  the  English  sub- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        25 

siclies,  he  will,  in  1790,  not  only  have  perfectly  liqui- 
dated the  debts  of  the  sovereignty,  but,  also,  those  of 
the  State.  His  country  is  as  free  as  it  can  be;  and  is 
happy  and  contented,  except  that  the  trading  class 
regret  the  prodigality  of  his  father.  Not  that  the 
reigning  Duke  is  less  sensible  to  elegant  pleasures 
than  another;  but,  severely  observant  of  decency,  and 
religiously  faithful  to  his  duty  as  a  Prince,  he  has 
perceived  that  economy  was  his  only  resource.  His 
mistress,  Madame  Hartfield,  is  the  most  reasonable 
woman  at  Court ;  and  so  proper  is  this  attachment  that, 
having  a  short  time  since  discovered  an  inclination  for 
another  woman,  the  Duchess  leagued  with  Madame 
Hartfield  to  keep  her  at  a  distance.  Truly  an  Alci- 
biades,  he  delights  in  the  pleasures  and  the  graces; 
but  these  never  subtract  anything  from  his  labors  or 
his  duties,  not  even  those  of  prudence.  When  he  is 
to  act  as  a  Prussian  general,  no  one  is  so  early,  so 
active,  so  minute  as  himself.  It  is  a  mark  of  superior 
character  and  understanding,  in  my  opinion,  that  the 
labor  of  the  day  can  be  less  properly  said  to  be  suffi- 
cient for  him  than  he  is  for  the  labor  of  the  day ;  his 
first  ambition  is  that  of  executing  it  well.  Intoxicated 
by  military  success,  and  universally  pointed  out  as  a 
great  general  (especially  since  the  campaign  of  1778, 
during  which  he  all  the  winter  maintained  the  feeble 
post  of  Troppau,  to  which  the  King  of  Prussia  an- 
nexed a  kind  of  vanity,  against  every  effort  of  the 
Austrians),  he  appears  effectually  to  have  quitted 
military  glory,  to  betake  himself  to  the  cares  of  gov- 
ernment. Everywhere  made  welcome,  possessed  of 
unbounded  curiosity,  he  still  is  capable  of  assiduously 
confining  himself  to  Brunswick,  and  attaching  himself 
to  business.  He  is,  in  fine,  a  man  of  an  uncommon 
stamp,  but  too  wise  to  be  formidable  to  the  wise.  He 
delights  much  in  France,  with  which  he  is  exceedingly 


26        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

well  acquainted,  and  appears  to  be  very  fond  of 
whatever  comes  from  that  country.  His  eldest  son, 
returning  from  Lausanne,  has  passed  through  Franche- 
Comte,  Languedoc,  and  Provence,  and  is  very  de- 
sirous to  return  to  France.  I  shall  soon  know  if  he 
is  to  be  sent  back.  In  my  opinion  the  son  cannot  be 
treated  with  too  much  respect  there,  so  as  to  testify 
confidence  in  the  father;  which  it  seems  to  me  would 
give  the  latter  pleasure,  by  which  he  would  certainly 
be  sufficiently  confirmed  and  flattered,  to  keep  this 
treatment  in  memory. 

I  cannot  at  present  speak  of  the  supper,  when  the 
Duke  removed  me  from  the  place  of  honor,  opposite 
the  Duchess,  where  I  sat  at  dinner,  to  seat  me  beside 
himself,  which  is  always  at  the  far  end  of  the  table. 
The  conversation  was  lively,  and  absolutely  individual, 
but  not  political.  (We  had  listeners.)  He  ques- 
tioned me  much  concerning  France.  I  am  to  dine 
with  him  to-day,  and  to  sup  with  the  Duchess  Dow- 
ager, at  Antoinetten-Ruh.  I  could  not  avoid  this  tax 
on  propriety,  which  deprives  me  of  an  opportunity  of 
supping  with  the  Duke, — a  favor  he  rarely  grants, 
and  which  appeared  to  be  much  remarked  here,  yester- 
day, where  I  am  observed  with  anxiety.  Perhaps  I 
am  supposed  a  place  hunter. 

The  continuance  of  Zimmermann  at  Potsdam  is  pro- 
longed, more  than  it  was  supposed  it  would  have  been. 
He  writes  that  the  dropsy  is  not  confirmed,  and  he 
again  talks  of  an  asthma.  This  is  medical  cant.  He 
is  the  creature  of  the  King,  not  of  the  public.  Certain 
it  is  that  he  has  gained  no  victory  over  eel  pies  and 
polenta;  that  there  are  no  longer  any  wrinkles  in  the 
face ;  and  that  the  parts  are  all  inflated  and  cedematous. 

Prince  Henry,  however,  is  returned  to  Rheinsberg, 

where  the  youthful  and  handsome  R ,  as  it  is  said, 

occasions  rain  and  fair  weather. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        27 

I  can  warrant  it  as  a  fact  that  a  Scotchman  who  is 
first  physician  to  Catherine  II.  of  Russia,  being  lately 
at  Vienna,  dined  at  the  table  of  the  Emperor,  and  was 
seated  by  his  side.  Indeed,  this  was  avowed  in  the 
Gazettes ;  but  it  was  not  there  avowed  that,  while  this 
physician  remained  at  Vienna,  Cobenzl  (the  Austrian 
Ambassador  to  the  Court  of  Petersburg,  but  then  at 
Vienna)  having  been  ordered  to  show  the  physician 
a  pleasure  house  in  the  vicinity  of  the  metropolis,  the 
Emperor  on  horseback  HAPPENED  to  meet  the  doctor 
on  the  road,  and  continued  in  conversation  with  him, 
at  the  coach  window,  for  the  space  of  more  than  two 
leagues. 


LETTER    IV 

July  i6th,  1786. 

TO-DAY  I  was  three  hours  alone  with  the  Duke,  after 
rising  from  dinner.  The  conversation  was  animated, 
frank,  and  almost  confidential:  it  confirmed  me  in 
most  of  the  opinions  I  gave  in  my  last  letter  (Number 
III.),  but  it  has  inspired  me  with  much  fear,  concern- 
ing the  situation  of  Prussia  after  the  death  of  the  King. 
The  successor  seems  to  have  every  symptom  of  the 
most  incurable  weakness;  the  most  corrupt  among 
the  persons  by  whom  he  is  surrounded,  of  whom  the 
gloomy  and  visionary  Bishopswerder  may  be  ranked 
as  first,  daily  increase  in  power.  There  is  a  coolness 
said  to  prevail  between  the  Heir  Apparent  and  his 
uncles.  The  coadjutorship  of  the  Order  of  St.  John, 
bestowed  with  great  solemnity  on  Prince  Henry,  the 
eldest  son  of  Prince  Ferdinand,  which  deprives  the 
successor  of  more  than  fifty  thousand  crowns  per 
annum,  is  the  most  recent  cause  of  this  coolness.  It 
should  seem  that  there  have  been  very  powerful  in- 


28        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF. 

trigues  for  the  establishment  of  these  two  young 
Princes,  whom  both  city  and  Court  regard  as  the  chil- 
dren of  Count  Schmettau.  The  measures  taken  to 
effect  this  were  strengthened  at  the  very  moment  when 
the  King  was  supposed  to  be  expiring,  so  as  to  bind 
the  successor,  of  whom  they  consequently  have  testified 
their  suspicion.  To  the  King's  brother,  Prince  Henry, 
the  half  at  least  of  all  this  appertains;  nor  has  the 
Heir  Apparent  attempted  to  conceal  his  dissatisfaction. 
Thence  it  results  that  all  the  subaltern  parties,  and 
their  dirty  cabals,  become  more  active;  so  that  the  re- 
spect in  which  the  Court  of  Berlin  has  been  held,  and 
in  which  consists  its  greatest  power,  depends,  perhaps, 
but  too  much  on  the  life  of  the  King;  unless  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick  should  seize  the  reins  of  government,  the 
burden  of  which  he  seriously  appears  to  dread.  In 
effect,  a  kingdom  like  this,  which  has  no  constituent 
foundation,  will  be  cruelly  agitated,  should  the  winds 
of  Court  begin  to  blow ;  and  should  the  Duke,  who  has 
formed  himself  without  having  studied  in  the  school 
of  adversity,  and  whose  reason  and  sagacity  it  is  im- 
possible to  speak  too  highly  of,  fear  to  reverse  the 
wThole  system  of  his  mode  of  life.  But  he  does  not 
start  at  difficulties ;  and  he  is  too  much  interested  in  the 
prosperity  of  Prussia  not  to  seek  to  obtain  influence 
there. 

It  does  not  appear  to  me  probable  that  the  first  six 
months,  or  even  the  first  year,  should  produce  any 
change,  or  do  more  than  prepare  for  change.  The 
Duke  has  repeatedly  assured  me  that  all  the  Protestant 
powers  of  Germany,  and  a  great  part  of  the  Catholic, 
would  incontrovertibly  be  in  the  interest  of  France, 
whenever  the  latter  should  fully  convince  the  Ger- 
manic body  of  her  amicable  intentions;  and  when  I 
asked  what  pledges  should  be  given  us  that  the  high 
part  with  which  the  Elector  of  Hanover  was  invested, 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        29 

in  the  confederation  of  the  Princes,  should  not  sway 
the  Cabinet  of  Berlin  to  the  side  of  the  English,  and 
should  not  become  art  invincible  impediment  to  any 
sincere  union  between  Versailles  and  Prussia,  he 
clearly  showed  me,  so  as  not  to  admit  of  reply,  that 
the  Germanic  league  would  never  have  existed,  or  at 
least  would  never  have  assumed  its  present  form,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  ambiguity  of  our  conduct,  relative 
to  the  Schelde,  to  Bavaria,  and  to  the  Oriental  sys- 
tem. He  added  that  the  Elector  of  Hanover,  and  the 
King  of  England,  were  two  very  distinct  persons: 
and  that  the  English  and  the  Germans  were  great 
strangers  to  each  other. 

Here  I  ought  to  observe  that,  in  my  opinion,  the 
Duke  overacts  his  part,  whenever  he  speaks  of  depress- 
ing England,  which  I  well  know  he  loves;  and  that 
perhaps  because  he  feels  his  family  connections  may, 
in  this  respect,  render  him  more  liable  to  suspicion. 
In  a  word,  I  cannot  too  often  repeat  that  they  do  not 
appear  to  have  confidence  in  us,  but  that  such  confi- 
dence is  very  sincerely  desired;  and  that  the  more  be- 
cause the  Emperor,  unsupported  by  France,  is  not 
held  in  the  least  dread,  and  that  there  is  a  reigning  con- 
viction he  will  not  dare  to  take  a  single  step,  when  the 
Cabinet  of  Versailles  shall  say,  "  We  will  not  suffer 
any  infraction." 

Be  it  however  remarked  that  the  incoherent  con- 
duct of  the  Emperor,  and  his  abrupt  vagaries,  often 
unhinge  all  the  combinations  of  reason.  The  Duke 
has  to-day  learned  a  fact  of  this  kind,  which  may  well 
incite  meditation. 

The  Baron  of  Gemmingen,  some  time  since,  wrote  a 
very  violent  pamphlet  against  the  German  confederacy. 
Dohm,  an  excellent  Prussian  civilian,  answered  in  a 
strong  and  victorious  manner.  The  Ministry  of 
Vienna,  in  consequence,  requested  our  Ministry  to 


30        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

entreat  the  Court  of  Berlin  to  suffer  wordy  hostilities 
to  cease.  The  latter  consented ;  but  there  has  just  ap- 
peared (printed  indeed  at  Munich,  but  indubitably  com- 
ing from  Vienna)  a  satirical  and  bitter  reply  to  Dohm. 
Verbal  wars  are  rarely  insignificant  at  Vienna,  where 
they  are  never  begun  but  under  the  auspices  of  Govern- 
ment. 

The  following  is  another  fact  of  serious  import,  if 
true.  The  Duke  has  received  advice,  from  Vienna, 
that  between  four  and  five  thousand  Russians  have 
entered  Poland,  where  the  Diet  threatens  to  be  very 
turbulent.  The  Duke  is  desirous  we  should  take  a 
decisive  part  concerning  and  against  all  new  arrange- 
ments tending  to  the  further  dissolution  or  dismem- 
berment of  Poland.  I  have  not  knowledge  sufficient 
of  this  country  to  enter  into  any  circumstantial  detail ; 
but  I  spoke  to  him  on  the  subject  of  Courland,  explain- 
ing my  ideas,  relative  to  the  late  proceedings  of  Rus- 
sia in  this  country,  such  as  they  will  be  found  in  my 
Memorial;  and  I  introduced  my  discourse  as  if  arising 
out  of  the  conversation.  He  was  ardently  attentive  to 
what  I  said,  and  promised  to  write  according  to  my 
sense  of  the  danger  to  Count  Hertzberg.  I  well  com- 
prehend that  the  circumstances  of  the  moment  are 
nothing  less  than  favorable ;  and  the  assent  which  was 
warmly  given  by  a  most  excellent  politician  emboldens 
me  to  entreat  that  my  Memorial  may  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration, though  it  should  only  be  practicable  in  fu- 
ture, and  that  some  instructions  may  be  sent  me,  on  the 
manner  in  which  I  may  sound  the  Duke  of  Courland 
on  this  head,  whom  I  shall  meet  at  Berlin,  and  the 
principal  persons  of  Courland,  with  whom  I  may 
easily  correspond;  my  trade  of  traveler  being  known, 
and  my  desire  to  collect  facts  and  to  deduce  conse- 
quences giving  great  opportunities  to  inquire  and 
speak  concerning  all  subjects. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        31 
MEMORIAL 

Sent  to  the  Court  of  France,  Concerning  the  Declaration  Made 
by  Russia  to  Courland,  and  Published  in  the  "  Leyden  Ga- 
zettes," from  the  2oth  of  May  to  the  3rd  of  June,  1786. 

COURLAND  has  lately  been  officially  menaced  with  the 
indignation  of  the  Sovereign  of  all  the  Russias,  on 
the  supposition  that  the  report,  relative  to  the  abdica- 
tion of  the  Duke  of  Courland  in  favor  of  the  Prince 
of  Wurtemberg,  a  general  in  the  Prussian  service, 
should  be  true. 

The  reigning  Duke,  Ernest  John,  a  ferocious  man, 
so  much  abhorred  in  his  own  country  as  not  to  be  able 
to  remain  there,  although  he  should  not  dread  any 
violence  from  the  Ministry  of  Petersburg,  is  known  to 
be  the  son  of  the  famous  Biron,  who  was  reinstated 
Duke  of  Courland,  in  1760,  by  the  influence,  or  rather 
through  the  fear  of  Russia,  which  power,  with  the  aid 
of  forty  thousand  men,  expelled  Prince  Charles  of 
Saxony,  the  uncle  of  the  Elector  and  the  legitimate 
Duke,  to  restore  the  former  favorite  of  Elizabeth, 
whom  a  court  faction  had  lately  recalled  from  Siberia. 

It  is  also  known  that  this  Ernest  John  has  more  than 
once  felt  the  whole  weight  of  the  resentment  of  Cather- 
ine II. ;  that  he  has  been  near  twenty  years  banished 
into  Siberia;  that  he  has  no  influence  whatever  in 
Courland ;  and  that  his  abdication  is  universally  wished. 

But  it  is  not  known,  or  rather  it  is  kept  secret,  that 
he  was  enjoined,  by  a  Ukase  (or  edict)  six  years  ago, 
to  resign  his  duchy  to  Prince  Potemkin;  and  that,  by 
the  advice  of  the  Chancellor  Taube,  and  of  the  Cham- 
berlain Howen,  he  averted  the  storm  by  remitting  to 
Prince  Potemkin  (whose  affairs  ever  were  and  are  in 
disorder)  two  hundred  thousand  ducats.  Rason,  the 
ministerial  secretary  of  the  Duke,  was  intrusted  to 
carry  him  this  sum. 


32        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Whether  it  be  that  Potemkin,  while  waiting  for  the 
execution  of  his  grand  projects,  which  perhaps  relate, 
to  the  Oriental  system,  or  to  circumstances  that  are 
yet  immature,  wishes  to  acquire  this  accession  of 
power;  whether  it  be  that  he  is  in  want  of  money;  or 
more  especially  whether  it  be  that  the  Duke  of  Cour- 
land,  since  his  situation  has  been  so  precarious  is 
known  in  consequence  of  his  avarice  to  have  become 
one  of  the  richest  princes  in  Europe,  and  that,  rendered 
effeminate  by  adversity,  old  age,  and  the  daily  im- 
portunities of  his  last  wife,  who  has  acquired  some 
influence  over  him,  he  is  endeavoring  to  place  himself 
beyond  the  reach  of  ill  fortune;  be  it  which  of  these 
causes  it  may,  a  similar  crisis  is  again  returned. 

The  Cabinet  of  Petersburg  is  ignorant  of  none  of 
these  things.  It  doubtless  fears  that  the  Court  of 
Berlin  is  speculating  concerning  the  provinces  of  Cour- 
land ;  hoping,  by  the  aid  of  a  new  Duke,  to  have  it  en- 
tirely at  its  disposal.  The  conditions  which  gave 
Poland  a  right  of  protection  over  Courland  having 
ceased,  when  power  became  law,  and  at  the  moment 
the  oppressed  republic  found  it  impossible  to  fulfill 
those  conditions,  it  is  not  absurd  to  apprehend  that 
Prussia  will  surreptitiously  take  the  place  of  Poland, 
and  thus  to  its  own  profit  confirm  the  right  by  the  deed. 

Courland  is  in  reality  far  from  a  contemptible 
country.  Its  climate,  being  in  the  57th  degree  of  lati- 
tude, though  sufficiently  is  not  insupportably  cold.  Its 
extent  in  length  is  eighty  leagues,  and  in  breadth 
fifty.  Its  soil  is  fertile,  and  its  natural  products  are 
very  necessary  for  all  the  commercial  and  maritime 
powers.  Two  principal  and  navigable  rivers  divide  it, 
from  east  to  west,  the  Aa  and  the  Windau;  several 
brooks  and  canals  intersect  it  in  every  direction.  It 
has  two  ports,  Windau  and  Liebau  on  the  Baltic.  In 
its  present  important  and  indolent  state  its  commerce, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        33 

active  and  passive,  does  not  employ  less  than  from 
six  to  seven  hundred  vessels,  of  three,  four,  and  as 
far  as  eight  hundred  tons  burden.  It  contains  seven 
or  eight  small  towns,  and  its  population  is  estimated 
at  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  of  inhabitants.  The 
landholders  may  be  supposed  not  to  be  in  a  state  of 
wretchedness,  since  the  revenues  of  the  reigning  Duke, 
whose  influence  in  the  republic  is  so  small,  annually 
amount  to  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling. 
Such  is  the  outline  of  the  situation  of  Courland. 

It  would  'be  of  little  use  to  prove  in  this  place  that 
the  republic  being  a  free  State,  the  Prince  of  which  is 
purely  elective,  so  that  though  he  may  abdicate  he  can- 
not transfer  his  privileges,  Russia  cannot  legally  in- 
terfere in  the  affairs  of  Courland,  which  ought  to  be 
as  independent  as  are  its  rights.  This  word  RIGHTS  is 
totally  stripped  of  meaning  when  opposed  to  the  word 
POWER.  Russia  has  long  been  in  the  habit  of  vexing 
Courland,  internally  and  externally;  of  dictating  the 
choice  of  its  Governors;  of  laying  its  suffrages  under 
restraint;  and  of  extorting  or  forcibly  seizing  on  its 
money,  its  produce  and  its  men.  The  Monarchs  of 
Petersburg  have  always  made  it  a  principle  to  fa- 
miliarize the  Courts  of  Europe  to  the  supposition  that 
Courland  has  no  political  existence  except  such  as 
Russia  shall  please  to  bestow.  All  this  is  well  known. 

The  points  I  should  wish  briefly  here  to  examine  are  : 

1.  Whether  it  is  not  evidently  our  interest  to  intro- 
duce a  new  order  of  affairs;  and — 

2.  Whether  we  have  not  the  means  so  to  do. 
Courland,  kept  back  and  oppressed  by  every  kind  of 

exterior  and  interior  tyranny,  possesses  no  one  species 
of  manufacture.  It  abounds  in  naval  stores ;  stores  for 
which  reason  there  is  an  affinity,  resulting  from  cir- 
cumstances, between  Courland  and  France,  which  lat- 
ter holds  the  first  rank  among  industrial  nations,  or  an 


34        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

affinity  between  their  mutual  products,  the  direct  barter 
of  which  would  give  birth  to  the  most  advantageous 
kind  of  trade. 

In  reality,  there  exists  at  present  a  species  of  barter 
between  Courland  and  France;  but  in  so  indirect  a 
manner  that  it  is  carried  on  at  second  or  third  hand, 
by  the  intervention  of  the  English,  the  Dutch,  the 
Swedes,  the  Danes,  the  Prussians,  the  Hanse  Towns,  etc. 

This  intervention  absorbs  and  destroys  all  the 
benefit  which  a  trade  so  advantageous  would  be  of  to 
France,  and  which  certainly  ought  abundantly  to  pro- 
cure us,  and  at  a  moderate  price,  a  price  unknown  in 
our  dockyards  and  markets,  ship  timber,  masts,  spokes, 
fellies,  veneering  wood,  etc.,  grain,  ship  beef,  saltfish, 
vegetables,  etc.  The  natural  returns  for  these  would 
be  the  produce  of  our  industry,  from  the  coarsest  to 
the  finest  articles  (for  nothing  is  manufactured  in 
Courland),  which  the  Courlanders  (whose  consump- 
tion is  great,  and  who  are  very  desirous  of  articles  of 
luxury,  and  even  of  finery)  would  then  obtain  from 
us  at  a  moderate  price,  still  infinitely  lucrative  to  our 
traders. 

The  advantage  of  this  direct  trade  would  not  be  con- 
fined merely  to  money ;  for,  besides  the  influence  which 
such  intimate  connections  with  Courland  would  give 
us  in  the  Baltic  and  the  North,  where  we  should  be- 
come the  mediators  between  Prussia,  Russia,  and  Po- 
land, which  last  State  must  necessarily  soon  undergo 
some  new  change,  France,  by  a  commercial  treaty  with 
Courland,  would  acquire  two  ports  on  the  Baltic, 
which  would  at  least  remain  neuter  and  almost  ex- 
clusive to  herself.  These  would  be  useful  to  us,  both 
in  war  and  peace,  as  depository  places  for  stores,  and 
most  of  the  materials  which  are  requisite  for  the  royal 
and  mercantile  marine;  and  would  highly  compensate 
the  disadvantage  which  continually  increases,  and 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        35 

which  is  preparing  for  us  in  the  North,  relative  to 
our  marine,  in  consequence  of  the  strict  connections 
between  England  and  Russia. 

To  the  attentive  observer,  England  presents  every 
symptom  which  can  menace  the  possessions  of  the 
Dutch  in  the  East,  and  which  can  forebode  the  de- 
sire of  revenge.  Russia  can  at  any  time  rob  France 
of  a  great  part  of  the  naval  supplies  of  war  in  the 
European  seas. 

This  order  of  affairs  cannot  too  soon  be  reversed. 

Let  it  be  attentively  observed  that  there  is  no  ques- 
tion here  of  a  new  treaty,  but  the  revival  of  an  ancient 
one ;  for  the  Cardinal  de  Richelieu  made  a  treaty  with 
Courland,  in  1643,  which  was  registered  by  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Paris,  in  1647;  s°  tnat>  should  we  at  present 
treat  with  Courland,  we  can  decisively  affirm,  and 
demonstrate,  we  are  committing  no  innovation. 

This  seems  to  me  to  be  a  very  important  remark, 
which  ought  not  a  little  to  influence  the  resolution  that 
may  be  taken,  and  the  form  given  to  that  resolution, 
when  once  it  is  taken. 

The  States  of  Courland  desire  this  political  affinity 
between  the  two  countries.  The  Chamberlain  Howen, 
of  whom  I  have  spoken,  is  a  man  of  the  greatest  in- 
fluence in  the  republic,  and,  of  all  the  Courlanders, 
the  most  anti-Russian;  because  that,  while  an  envoy 
from  Courland  to  the  Court  of  Warsaw,  he  was  car- 
ried off,  by  order  of  the  Empress,  and  banished  into 
Siberia.  His  nephew  was  indirectly,  but  formally, 
charged  to  question  the  Government  of  France  on  this 
subject.  I  positively  know  he  has  spoken  to  the  Comte 
de  Vergennes,  and  that  the  only  answer  he  received 
from  the  Minister  was : 

1.  That,  he  being  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  this 
was  a  subject  that  did  not  appertain  to  his  department. 

2.  That  it  was  requisite  that  the  Duke  of  Courland 

2 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


36        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

and  the  States,  conjointly  and  officially,  should  make  a 
proposition  to  the  King,  concerning  a  treaty  of  com- 
merce. 

To  this  I  reply : 

i.  That,  most  certainly,  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  ought  to  consult  with  the  Minister  of  Finance, 
on  whatever  relates  to  commercial  treaties,  but  that  this 
does  not  therefore  appear  to  me  a  sufficient  reason  to 
reject  either  the  project  or  the  proposal. 

2".  That  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  Cour- 
land,  bowed  as  it  is  under  the  iron  rod  of  present  cir- 
cumstances, would  expose  itself,  by  taking  any  open 
step,  without  first  being  certain  its  propositions  should 
be  favourably  received,  and  that  the  country  should 
be  protected  against  that  power  which,  possessed  of 
strength  and  in  the  habit  of  taking  its  will  for  law, 
should  make  every  effort  to  counteract  and  prevent 
whatever  might  tend  to  impart  solidity  to  the  consti- 
tution of  Courland,  and  to  render  its  political  inde- 
pendence respectable. 

I  see  no  hope  that  any  power,  except  Prussia,  should 
interest  itself  in  the  affairs  of  this  province.  And  this 
is  the  second  point  which  it  is  my  intention  to  prove, 
in  this  Memorial. 

1.  Because  the  situation  of  the  Prussian  States  is 
such  that  the  stability  and  prosperity  of  Courland  ought 
no  less  to  influence  the  King  of  Prussia  than  if  this 
country  was  one  of  his  own  provinces. 

2.  Because    he    cannot   prudently    covet    Courland, 
which    Russia   would   never  leave   him   in   peaceable 
possession  of,  and  which  would  but  increase  the  length 
of  his  provinces,  already  too  much  extended,  without 
rendering  the  power  more  real  or  more  compact. 

This  latter  point  is  self-demonstrative;  and,  as  to 
the  advantages  which  Prussia  might  derive  from  the 
future  stability  of  Courland,  and  from  the  increase  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        37 

its  energy  and  industry,  these  are  evident  from  a  mere 
view  of  the  map.  Between  the  States  of  Brandenburg 
and  Russia  there  is  only  the  dismemberment  of  Poland, 
which  at  present  forms  part  of  Prussian  Lithuania 
and  of  Courland,  of  which  the  King  of  Prussia,  politely 
speaking,  would  become  the  useful  proprietor  that 
very  day  on  which  he  should  become  its  guardian  and 
projector.  Russia,  therefore,  necessarily  and  indubi- 
tably is  formidable  to  none  of  the  powers  of  Europe, 
Prussia  excepted,  on  which  kingdom  she  can  bring 
evil,  and  which  can  do  her  no  injury. 

On  the  other  part,  it  is  known  that  there  is  only  a 
very  narrow  slip  of  Polish  Lithuania  between  the 
States  of  Prussia  and  Courland,  which  barely  extends 
from  five  to  six  leagues.  Here  Prussia  might  easily 
make  legal  and  amicable  acquisitions,  sufficient  to  open 
a  very  advantageous  transport  trade  on  the  Memel, 
and  the  canals  that  might  be  cut  between  that  river  and 
the  rivers  of  Courland,  descending  to  the  ports  of  the 
Baltic,  of  which  I  have  spoken. 

Either  I  am  much  deceived  or  the  Ministry  of  Berlin 
might  easily  be  made  to  comprehend  that,  instead  of 
forming  projects  of  ambition  on  this  republic,  its  real 
interest  would  be  to  declare,  in  some  manner,  Prussia 
to  be  the  representative  of  Poland  in  her  engagements 
toward  Courland,  as  stipulated  by  the  pactd  conventa 
and  the  pacta  subjectionis,  which  have  been  actually 
and  necessarily  destroyed.  Prussia  might  find  a  hun- 
dred reasons  of  public  right  to  allege,  independent  of 
her  dignity  and  safety.  This  proposition,  and  that  of 
acceding  to  our  treaty  of  commerce  with  Courland, 
would  therefore  contain  nothing  imprudent;  it  would 
perhaps  be  a  good  means  of  depriving  the  House  of 
Brandenburg  of  all  fears  relative  to  our  Northern 
politics.  Nor  does  it  seem  to  be  impossible  but  that 
the  King  of  Prussia  would,  on  this  condition,  support 


38        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

the  declaration  we  might  make  to  the  Court  of  Peters- 
burg, that  it  was  our  determination  to  protect  Cour- 
land ;  and  not  to  suffer  a  free  country,  allied  to  France 
by  ancient  treaties,  to  be  humbled,  over  which  we 
would  not  permit  any  direct  and  legislative  influence 
to  be  exerted  by  any  Court. 

Such  a  declaration,  softened  by  every  diplomatic 
formality,  which  is  so  easily  practiced,  would  at  that 
time  be  sufficient,  in  my  opinion,  especially  if  made  in 
concert  with  the  Court  of  Berlin,  to  repel  the  projects 
of  usurpation  conceived  by  Russia  over  Courland. 

Be  these  things  as  they  may,  this  small  country,  too 
little  known,  together  with  Poland  and  the  Germanic 
body,  claims  the  serious  attention  of  the  King  of 
France;  who,  if  my  opinion  be  right,  has  no  other 
general  interest,  on  the  continent,  than  that  of  main- 
taining peace  and  the  reciprocal  safety  of  States. 


LETTER  V 

July  igth,  1786. 

YESTERDAY  morning,  before  my  departure,  the  Duke 
granted  me  an  audience  for  the  space  of  about  three 
hours;  or  rather,  personally  indicateli  a  conference, 
under  the  pretense  of  remitting  letters  to  Berlin,  and 
which,  indeed,  he  committed  to  my  care.  We  again 
spoke  of  general  affairs,  and  of  the  particular  situation 
of  Prussia;  of  the  suspicions  which  he  pretends  it  is 
impossible  to  avoid  entertaining,  concerning  our  in- 
tentions and  our  system  (how  should  I  answer  him 
such  is  the  disorder  of  our  finances  that  it  is  impossible 
we  should  have  any  system?)  ;  of  the  dread  that  daily 
increases,  which  the  Emperor  necessarily  inspires,  who 
does  good  awkwardly,  but  who  does  enough  to  acquire 
great  power,  the  basis  of  which  is  magnificent,  and 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        39 

highly  disproportionate  to  that  of  any  other  monarchy, 
France  excepted;  of  the  impossibility  of  finding  any 
counterpoise  to  this  power,  except  in  the  prudence  of 
the  Cabinet  of  Versailles;  of  the  little  hope  that  the 
new  regulations  of  Prussia  should  be  wise;  of  the 
various  directions  which  the  various  factions  that  were 
fermenting  at  Berlin  might  take ;  of  the  military  vigor 
and  the  ambitious  fumes  which  intoxicate  the  Duke  of 
Weymar,  who  aspires  to  enter  into  the  service  of 
Prussia,  and  to  embroil  parties;  of  the  necessity  which 
there  was  that  the  Cabinet  of  Versailles  should  send 
a  man  of  merit  to  Berlin,  there  to  inspire  awe  and 
give  advice,  keep  watch  over  the  factious  and  the 
turbulent,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

At  length,  questioning  me  with  an  air  of  fearing 
what  he  was  going  to  say  was  an  absurdity,  he  asked 
whether  I  should  think  the  project  of  an  alliance  be- 
tween France,  England,  and  Prussia  an  impracticable 
chimera;  the  end  of  which,  solemnly  avowed,  should 
be  to  guarantee,  throughout  Europe,  to  each  Prince 
his  respective  possessions;  a  measure  in  itself  noble, 
and  worthy  of  the  two  first  powers,  which  should 
command  all  others  to  remain  at  peace;  founded  on 
the  evident  and  combined  interest  of  the  two  rivals, 
and  the  greatest  obstacle  to  which  would  be  that  no 
one  would  dare  to  put  it  in  execution. 

The  idea,  on  which  I  have  for  these  seven  years 
been  ruminating,  is  too  sublime  not  to  be  seductive. 
It  would  infallibly  immortalize  the  Sovereign  by  whom 
it  should  be  realized,  and  the  Minister  by  whom  it 
should  be  promoted.  It  would  change  the  face  of 
Europe,  and  totally  to  our  advantage ;  for,  once  again, 
commercial  treaties,  however  advantageous  to  Eng- 
land, would  never  make  the  English  anything  more 
than  our  carriers  and  our  most  useful  factors. 

The  Duke  has  permitted  me  to  correspond  with 


40        MEMOIRS  OF.  THE  COURTS  OE 

him;  he  even  desired  me  so  to  do,  and  I  find  I  have 
obtained  almost  that  very  place  in  his  opinion  which 
I  myself  could  have  wished. 

July  2ist,  1786. 

FIRST  POSTSCRIPT. — I  am  arrived,  and  perhaps  I 
shall  learn  but  little  to-day.  The  dropsy  is  in  the 
stomach;  nay,  in  the  lungs.  He  was  informed  of  it 
on  Thursday.  He  heard  it  with  great  magnanimity, 
say  some;  others  affirm  he  treated  the  physician,  who 
was  too  sincere,  very  ill.  He  might  drag  on  life,  if 
he  would  take  advice,  Doctor  Baylies  says,  another 
year;  but  I  suspect  he  will  never  give  up  eel  pies. 
Count  Hertzberg  has  been  at  Sans  Souci  this  week 
past;  he  had  never  before  been  sent  for.  T\vo  days 
previous  to  that  on  which  the  King  made  him  this 
kind  of  honorable  reparation,  if,  however,  it  be  any- 
thing else  than  the  necessity  of  giving  breath  to  those 
who  are  obliged  to  converse  with  him,  and  of  enliven- 
ing his  conversation,  the  Heir  Apparent  dined  with 
the  Count  at  his  country  seat,  and  passed  the  best  part 
of  the  evening  \vith  him  and  the  Prince  of  Dessau. 
This  has  bewildered  the  parties  that  are  hotly  animated 
against  this  estimable  Minister,  in  and  for  whom,  ac- 
cording to  my  opinion,  our  embassy  has  always  testi- 
fied too  little  confidence  and  respect. 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT. — I  have  intelligence,  from 
W7hat  I  believe  to  be  a  very  certain  and  profound 
source,  wholly  independent  of  the  Cabinet  of  Berlin, 
that  the  Emperor  has  made  preparations  which  greatly 
menace  those  parts  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  that 
would  be  convenient  to  him  to  possess;  that  he  is  im- 
mediately expected  to  repair  to  those  frontiers  in  per- 
son; and  that  such  motions  cannot  otherwise  be 
explained  than  by  reacting  the  conquest  of  the  Crimea 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        41 

in  those  countries.  This  information,  combined  with 
the  ultimatum  which  Russia  has  delivered  in  to  the 
Porte,  seems  to  me  to  be  of  sovereign  importance.  I 
do  not  know  the  precise  intentions  of  the  Court  of 
France;  but  if  the  indefinite  aggrandizement  of  the 
Emperor,  and  particularly  the  execution  of  the 
Oriental  system,  are  as  formidable  to  us  as  I  suppose 
them  to  be,  I  entreat  deliberations  may  be  held  whether 
it  befits  the  dignity  of  the  King  to  suffer  the  tragedy 
of  Poland  to  recommence,  the  interest  of  the  State  to 
lose  the  Levant  trade,  or  prudent  policy  to  temporize, 
when  the  match  is  putting  to  the  touch-hole.  I  cannot 
for  my  part  doubt  but  that  our  inactivity,  in  such  a 
case,  must  be  gratuitous;  because  the  Emperor  would 
most  certainly  not  brave  us;  and  fatal  also,  since  we 
are  precisely  the  only  power  who  have  at  once  the 
interest  and  the  strength  to  impede  such  attempts. 
England  will  trouble  herself  little  concerning  them, 
and  without  us  Prussia  is  nothing. 


LETTER  VI 

July  2ist,    1786. 

AN  odd  incident  has  happened  to  me.  I  am  just  re- 
turned from  the  French  Ambassador's  who  sent  me 
word  he  could  not  have  the  honour  of  receiving  my 
visit,  because  he  was  busy.  To  feel  the  whole  import 
of  this  act,  it  is  necessary  to  know  that  there  has  lately 
appeared  an  article  in  the  "Hamburg  Gazette,"  affirm- 
ing in  express  terms  I  had  received  orders  to  quit 
France.  You  will  further  recollect  that,  in  general, 
the  Ambassador  of  France  is  eagerly  desirous  of  re- 
ceiving the  visits  of  French  travelers.  Such  is  the 
present  combination  of  circumstances  that  this,  which 


42        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

would  only,  on  any  other  occasion,  be  an  affair  of 
rather  serious  impoliteness,  is  at  this  moment  a  very 
embarrassing  affectation.  I  believe  I  have  no  need  to 
tell  you  I  am  far  superior  to  punctilio;  but  this  is  not 
mere  form.  The  natural  preponderance  of  France 
is  such  that  the  respect  in  which  a  native  of  that 
country  is  held  cannot  be  wholly  independent  of  the 
reception  he  shall  meet  from  the  Ambassador.  What, 
then,  must  be  thought  when  he  shall  be  envied,  sus- 
pected, and  watched,  and  when  pretenses  are  sought 
to  render  his  character  equivocal?  And  what  must 
be  his  situation,  when,  far  from  seeking  to  quarrel 
with  the  Ambassador  it  is  his  duty  and  his  wish,  on  all 
occasions,  to  preserve  appearances,  and  to  protect  him 
from  becoming  instead  of  making  him  ridiculous? 

You  will  have  no  difficulty  in  comprehending  that  it 
is  an  intricate  affair,  and  that  I  must  well  reflect  on 
the  part  I  have  to  take.  At  present  I  must  dissemble, 
and  expose  myself  to  a  new  refusal  to-morrow;  but 
it  will  be  impossible  to  suffer  this  new  refusal  to  re- 
main unnoticed.  I  write  you  word  of  this  in  order 
that,  in  any  case,  and  rather  too  soon  than  too  late, 
you  should  inform  M.  d'Esterno  it  is  not  the  inten- 
tion of  Government  that  I  should  be  treated  in  a 
disrespectful  manner,  and  still  less  as  a  proscribed 
person.  He  is  so  much  of  a  timid  trembler,  that  he 
may  have  been  imposed  upon  by  the  Hamburg  para- 
graph. I  do  not  think  him  sufficiently  cunning  to  have 
written  it  himself.  He  certainly  appeared  ridiculously 
disturbed  at  my  return,  and  entirely  departed  from 
his  silent  circumspection,  that  he  might  discover,  by 
questioning  those  whom  he  supposed  intimate  with  me, 
what  were  my  intentions.  Some  of  the  numerous  per- 
sons who  do  not  love  him,  especially  among  the  corps 
diplomatique,  have  amused  themselves  with  inventing 
tales  relative  to  my  views,  similar  to  those  of  the 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        43 

"Thousand  and  One  Nights."  His  brain  is  in  a  state 
of  fermentation  upon  the  subject;  and  the  more  so 
as  he  is  acting  out  of  character.  I  may  in  consequence 
of  this  be  very  ill-situated  here.  To  prevent  this  you 
will  take  proper  measures.  I  shall  tell  you  more  be- 
fore I  seal  this  letter;  he  is  not  a  person  who  will 
oppose  the  least  ministerial  insinuation. 


LETTER  VII 

July  2^d,    1786. 

THERE  is  nobody  here,  consequently  I  shall  for 
some  days  lead  an  inactive  life.  There  is  no  Court, 
except  that  of  Prince  Ferdinand,  which  is  always 
insignificant ;  he  is  at  present  on  the  recovery.  Prince 
Frederick  of  Brunswick  knows  nothing.  The  Eng- 
lish Embassy  caress  and  suspect  me.  Count  Hertz- 
berg  still  remains  at  Sans  Souci;  I  must,  therefore, 
satisfy  myself  with  the  sterility  of  the  moment.  I 
imagine  I  have  discovered  that  the  real  occasion  of 
the  threatening  declaration  of  Russia  respecting  Cour- 
land,  was  a  secret  proposal  of  marriage  between  the 
Countess  of  Wurtemberg,  the  natural  daughter  of 
the  Duke,  and  a  Prussian ;  and  the  increasing  intimacy 
of  the  Duke  with  the  Heir  Apparent,  who  has  found 
in  the  purse  of  this  savage  Scythian  that  pecuniary  aid 
with  which  he  ought  long  since  to  have  been  supplied 
by  France.  The  Duke  of  Courland  departed,  soon 
after  the  menace  of  Petersburg  appeared,  with  his 
wife,  who  is  said  to  be  pregnant,  to  drink  the  Pyrmont 
waters.  According  to  all  appearances,  instead  of  re- 
maining at  Berlin  on  his  return,  he  will  go  to  Mittau. 
He  still  continues  to  make  acquisitions  in  the  Prussian 
dominions;  he  has  lately  bought  the  county  of  Sagan, 
in  Silesia ;  and  the  King,  who  was  not  a  little  vexed 


44        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

to  see  the  Prince  of  Lobkowitz  spend  the  revenues  of 
this  fine  estate  at  Vienna,  treats  the  Duke  of  Courland 
with  great  favour.  Besides  remitting  the  manor  fees, 
he  consented  to  alienate  or  at  least  to  entail  the  fief 
on  female  descendants,  which  before  was  revertible  to 
the  Crown  on  the  want  of  male  heirs;  so  that  the 
Duke,  who  has  no  son,  found  that,  by  his  carelessness, 
or  a  very  strange  kind  of  ignorance,  he  had  risked 
six  hundred  thousand  German  crowns  on  a  chance  the 
most  hazardous. 

It  is  indubitable  that  Prince  Potemkin  is,  or  appears 
to  be,  more  in  favor  than  ever.  It  has  been  found 
necessary  to  approve  his  disobedience.  There  are  re- 
ports that  he  has  sought  a  reconciliation  with  the 
Grand  Duke,  which  he  has  accomplished. 

The  new  Minister  of  Petersburg  (the  son  of  Field- 
marshal  Romanzow)  is  not  successful  here;  intelli- 
gent people,  however,  affirm  he  possesses  understand- 
ing and  information.  I  know  he  has  strong  prejudices 
against  me,  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  remove,  and  to 
gain  his  intimacy;  for  he  is  of  such  a  nature  that 
much  may  be  derived  from  his  acquaintance.  But  you 
must  feel  I  stand  in  need  of  some  instructions,  or  at 
least  of  a  series  of  questions,  which  shall  serve  me  as 
a  compass,  and  by  which  I  may  obtain  the  customary 
intelligence.  General  politics  have  for  some  years 
been  very  incoherent,  for  want  of  possessing  some 
fixed  system.  Which  of  the  two  alliances,  that  of  the 
House  of  Austria,  or  that  between  the  two  Imperial 
Courts,  Austria  and  Russia,  ought  to  be  regarded  as 
stable,  sacred,  and  subordinate  to  the  other?  Is 
France  resolved  to  quit  her  natural  train,  I  mean  to  say 
her  continental  system,  for  the  maritime?  If  so, 
whether  wisely  or  not,  this  will  at  least  explain  our 
extreme  cautiousness,  in  what  relates  to  the  projects 
of  the  Court  of  Vienna. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        45 

The  man  who  wants  this  knowledge  can  do  little 
more  than  wander  at  a  venture ;  he  may,  with  more  or 
less  intelligence,  write  a  gazette,  but,  not  having  a  suffi- 
cient basis  to  build  on,  cannot  be  a  negotiator.  I  en- 
treat it  may  not  be  supposed  I  have  the  presumption 
to  interrogate;  I  only  mean  to  explain,  in  very  few 
words,  such  of  the  reasons  which,  exclusive  of  my  own 
want  of  capacity,  and  of  the  few  means  my  situation 
affords  me,  infinitely  circumscribe  that  utility  which 
I  wish  and  labor  to  be  of  to  my  country. 

I  hope  I  shall  not  be  suspected  of  supposing  any  im- 
portance annexed  to  those  extracts  from  the  German 
newspapers,  which  I  shall  in  future  send  by  every 
courier.  It  is  purely  an  object  of  curiosity,  but  which 
I  thought  might  be  agreeable  in  a  country  where,  I 
believe,  not  a  single  German  gazette  is  received;  and 
into  which  so  many  ambassadors  send  no  other  dis- 
patches than  those  obtained  on  the  authority  of  these 
gazettes.  I  shall  only  speak  in  my  extracts  of  the 
news  of  the  North. 

FIRST  POSTSCRIPT. — Advice  yesterday  arrived  com- 
manding Lord  Dalrymple  to  depart,  and  bear  the 
Order  of  the  Garter  to  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Cassel. 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT. — I  have  received  a  very 
friendly  letter  from  Sans  Souci.  The  King  seems  to 
hope  he  shall  still  live  long;  he  appears,  however,  to  be 
much  more  occupied  concerning  himself  and  his  pine- 
apples than  by  foreign  affairs.  Astonishment  is  testi- 
fied (this  is  a  surprising  affair!)  though  in  a  very 
obliging  manner,  that  the  son  of  the  Comte  de  Ver- 
gennes  should  pass  through  Hamburg,  Dresden, 
Vienna,  etc.,  without  any  hope  of  seeing  him  at  Berlin. 
I  have  answered  I  was  very  grateful,  in  behalf  of  my 
nation,  for  the  importance  annexed  to  the  topographi- 


46        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

cal  peregrination  of  the  son  of  our  Minister  for  For- 
eign Affairs,  and  that  I  imagined  nothing  could  be 
more  flattering  to  his  father;  but  that,  for  my  own 
part,  I  was  wholly  uninformed  on  the  subject;  though 
I  was  persuaded  that,  if  the  Court  of  Berlin  was  re- 
served as  the  last  place  to  be  visited,  it  would  only  be 
from  a  love  of  the  Crescendo.  I  said  the  same  to 
Count  Goertz,  by  whom  I  was  warmly  questioned. 


LETTER  VIII 

BERLIN,  July  26th,  1786. 

THE  fine  weather  supports  the  life  of  the  King,  but 
he  is  ill.  On  Wednesday  he  was  for  some  minutes 
wheeled  about  in  his  chair,  by  which  he  was  much 
incommoded,  and  suffered  greatly  during  and  after  the 
exercise.  His  pains  increased  on  Thursday,  and  yes- 
terday he  was  no  better.  I  persist  in  my  opinion  that 
the  period  of  his  existence  will  be  toward  the  month 
of  September. 

The  Heir  Apparent  does  not  quit  Potsdam,  where  he 
keeps  on  the  watch.  Still  the  same  respectful  passion 
for  Mademoiselle  Voss.  During  a  short  journey  that 
she  lately  made  with  her  brother,  a  confidential  valet  de 
chambre  followed  her  carriage  at  a  distance,  and  if 
the  beauty,  who  in  my  opinion  is  very  ordinary,  testi- 
fied the  least  desire  (to  eat  white  bread,  for  example), 
before  she  had  proceeded  half  a  league  she  found 
everything  she  wished.  It  appears  indubitable  that  she 
has  not  yet  yielded.  No  great  use  can  be  made  either 
of  her  uncle  or  her  brothers.  Frenchwomen  arrive 
daily;  but  I  doubt  much  whether  there  will  be  any 
great  advantage  derived  from  them,  except  to  inn- 
keepers and  milliners. 

The  Duke  of  Courland  has  lent  the  Heir  Apparent 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG         47 

money  to  pay  his  debts  at  Berlin ;  they  are  supposed  to 
be  all  discharged,  except  those  of  his  Princess,  which 
they  are  not  very  anxious  to  liquidate,  from  the  fear 
of  giving  her  bad  habits. 

I  have  spoken  at  large  with  Struensee.  He  supposes 
the  project  of  the  bank  to  be  a  grand  and  superb  opera- 
tion, which  cannot  but  succeed.  He  asks  timely  infor- 
mation, and  promises  to  place  and  cause  to  be  placed  in 
it  a  considerable  sum;  but  the  secret  must  only  be 
known  to  him,  and  the  subject  treated  only  between 
ourselves. 


LETTER  IX 

July  3ist,  1786. 
k............. 

I  SUPPOSE  in  reality  that,  in  this  commencement  of 
correspondence,  my  letters  are  waited  for,  in  order 
to  write  to  me;  however,  if  my  letter  of  the  23d  of 
July  (Number  V.)  has  been  well  deciphered  and  con- 
sidered, it  cannot  be  disowned  that  I  stand  in  need  of 
instructions.  Politics  are  at  a  crisis.  I  repeat,  politics 
are  at  a  crisis.  It  is  impossible  they  should  continue  as 
they  are,  whether  it  be  from  endeavors  to  accelerate 
or  efforts  to  retard.  Everything  denotes  the  Oriental 
system  to  increase  in  vigor.  I  have  no  doubt  but  that, 
soon  or  late,  it  will  be  destructive  of  that  of  the  West; 
and  the  danger  is  immediate,  is  instantaneous.  If 
Turkey  in  Europe,  speaking  in  political  and  commer- 
cial language,  be  one  of  our  colonies,  if  we  are  not 
resolved  to  leave  it  to  its  fate,  is  it  not  time  to  pay  it 
some  attention  ?  and  because  that  it  is  so,  is  the  general 
system  of  Europe  out  of  the  question?  Were  the 
King  of  Prussia  ten  years  younger,  he  would  well 
know  how  to  restore  the  equilibrium,  for  he  would 


48        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

take  as  much  from  Poland  as  others  might  take  else- 
where ;  but  he  dies  and  has  no  successor.  For  my  own 
part,  it  is  easy  to  conceive,  I  shall  consume  my  time 
in  barren  efforts ;  and,  after  taking  much  more  trouble, 
shall  be  much  less  useful  than  if  I  knew  what  track  to 
follow,  and  where  to  gain  information. 

The  King  is  in  daily  danger  of  death,  though  he 
may  live  some  months.  I  persist  in  my  autumnal  prog- 
nostics. Prince  Henry  having  sent  for  me  to  Rheins- 
berg  by  a  very  formal  and  friendly  letter,  it  would 
appear  affectation  in  me  not  to  go;  and  I  shall  set  off 
on  Wednesday,  after  the  departure  of  the  courier.  I 
shall  not  remain  there  longer  than  a  week,  where  I 
shall  have  good  opportunities  of  intelligence  concern- 
ing the  state  of  the  King,  and  of  gaining  information 
on  various  matters. 

POSTSCRIPT. — The  King  is  sensibly  worse;  he  has 
had  a  fever  these  two  days ;  this  may  kill  him,  or  pro- 
long his  life.  Nature  has  continually  done  so  much  for 
this  extraordinary  man,  that  nothing  more  is  wanting 
to  restore  him  than  a  hemorrhoidal  eruption.  The 
muscular  powers  are  very  great. 

The  English  Embassy  has  received  advice  from 
Vienna  that  the  Emperor  is  in  Transylvania,  and  that 
the  world  is  ignorant  of  what  he  is  doing,  what  he 
intends,  or  even  to  what  place  he  is  gone. 

All  the  boats  on  the  Danube  are  taken  into  his  ser- 
vice. 

The  maritime  company  wishes  to  monopolize  the 
sale  of  snuff  and  tobacco  in  Sweden,  offering  to  pay 
half  a  million  annually  to  the  King;  but  the  Swedish 
States  have  totally  refused  to  forbid  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco  in  the  kingdom,  and  this  was  the  condition, 
sine  qua  non.  The  actions  of  this  Monarch  decline 
greatly,  on  all  occasions ;  another  Diet  like  the  present, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        49 

and  monarchical  power  would  once  more  fail  in  Swe- 
den. It  appears  to  be  undoubted  that  the  rumor  of  his 
having  turned  Catholic,  on  his  journey  to  Rome,  has 
alienated  the  whole  nation.  But  are  we  to  impute  noth- 
ing to  the  intrigues  of  Russia,  in  the  present  fermenta- 
tion? 

Struensee  repeats  that,  if  the  bank  be  established,  he 
and  his  friends  are  ready;  that  is  to  say,  the  most 
moneyed  men  in  the  kingdom,  and  probably,  under 
a  new  reign,  the  Government  itself.  The  man  ought 
to  be  cherished.  It  would  be  of  importance  were  I 
often  empowered  to  give  him  good  information  respect- 
ing the  state  of  the  place.  Meditate  on  this.  His 
resources  are  in  himself,  and  will  probably  survive  his 
administration.  He  has  gained  immensely  by  specu- 
lating in  the  English  funds.  He  ought  to  be  weaned 
of  this,  to  which  he  is  self-inclined,  for  he  feels  and 
owns  that  chances  in  the  English  funds  are  exhausted 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 


LETTER  X 

August  2d,  1786. 
Written  before  my  departure  for  Rheinsberg. 

THE  King  is  evidently  better,  at  least  with  respect  to 
pain,  when  he  does  not  move;  he  has  even  left  off 
the  use  of  the  taraxicum,  or  dandelion,  the  only  thing 
Zimmermann  prescribed,  who,  consequently,  is  in  de- 
spair. He  simply  takes  a  tincture  of  rhubarb  mixed 
with  diarrhcetics,  which  gives  him  copious  evacuations. 
His  appetite  is  very  good,  which  he  indulges  without 
restraint.  The  most  unhealthy  dishes  are  his  greatest 


50        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

favorites.  If  indigestion  be  the  consequence,  as  it  fre- 
quently is,  he  takes  a  double  aperitive  dose. 

Frese,  his  physician  of  Potsdam,  still  continues  in 
disgrace,  for  having  dared  to  whisper  the  word  dropsy 
on  the  question  being  asked  him,  and  an  appeal  made 
to  his  conscience,  what  was  the  name  and  character  of 
the  disease.  The  King  is  exceedingly  chilly,  and  is 
continually  enveloped  in  furs,  and  covered  by  feather 
beds.  He  has  not  entered  his  bed  these  six  weeks,  but 
is  removed  from  one  armchair  to  another,  in  which  he 
takes  tolerably  long  sleeps,  turned  on  his  right  side. 
Inflation  augments;  the  scrotum  is  exceedingly  tumid. 
He  perceives  this,  but  will  not  persuade  himself,  or 
appear  to  believe,  that  it  is  anything  more  than  the 
inflated  of  convalescence,  and  the  result  of  great 
feebleness. 

This  information  is  minutely  exact,  and  very  recent. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  his  unwillingness  to  die.  The 
people  best  informed  think  that,  as  soon  as  he  believes 
himself  really  dropsical  and  at  the  point  of  death,  he 
will  submit  to  be  tapped,  and  to  the  most  violent 
remedies,  rather  than  peaceably  resign  himself  to  sleep 
with  his  fathers.  He  even  desired,  some  time  since, 
incisions  might  be  made  in  his  hams  and  thighs ;  but  the 
physician  feared  to  risk  them.  With  respect  to  his 
understanding,  it  is  still  sound;  and  he  even  continues 
his  labors. 


LETTER  XI 

August  8th,  1786. 

THE  King  is  dangerously  ill;  some  affirm  he  has  not 
many  hours  to  live,  but  this  probably  partakes  of 
exaggeration.  On  the  fourth,  the  erysipelas  with 
blisters  on  the  legs  made  their  appearance;  this  prog- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        51 

nosticates  bursting,  and  soon  after  gangrene.  At  pres- 
ent there  is  suffocation,  and  a  most  infectious  smell. 
The  smallest  fever — and  the  curtain  must  drop. 


LETTER  XII 

August  I2th,  1786. 

THE  King  is  apparently  much' better.  The  evacuation, 
which  was  the  consequence  of  the  apertures  in  his 
legs,  has  caused  the  swelling  to  abate,  and  given  ease ; 
but  has  been  followed  by  a  dangerous  excess  of  ap- 
petite. He  cannot  continue  in  this  state.  You  may 
expect  to  receive  a  grand  packet  at  my  return  from 
Rheinsberg. 


LETTER  XIII 

August   i$th,   1786. 

I  AM  just  returned  from  Rheinsberg,  where  I  have 
lived  in  the  utmost  familiarity  with  Prince  Henry. 
I  have  numerous  modes  of  communication,  which  will 
develop  themselves  as  time  and  opportunity  shall  serve ; 
at  present  I  shall  only  state  consequences. 

Prince  Henry  is  in  the  utmost  incertitude,  concern- 
ing what  he  shall  or  shall  not  be  under  the  new  reign. 
He  greatly  dreads,  and  more  than  he  wishes  to  appear 
to  dread,  though  his  fears  are  very  visible,  the  in- 
fluence of  Count  Hertzberg,  who  is  still  detained  at 
Sans  Souci,  but,  as  I  think,  only  for  the  sake  of  his 
conversation, — at  least,  as  far  as  respects  the  old  King. 
This  Count  Hertzberg  has  openly  espoused  the  English 
system;  but,  though  the  flatteries  of  Ewart  and  his 
secret  arts  have  much  profited  by  the  long  contempt  in 
which  the  French  Embassy  have  held  this  Minister,  I 


52        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

believe  his  principal  reason  for  attaching  himself  to 
England  is  because  Prince  Henry,  his  implacable 
enemy,  is  the  avowed  and  fanatical  protector  of  the 
French  system;  and  because  the  Count  imagines  he 
cannot  otherwise  make  himself  indispensably  necessary 
to  the  opposite  party ;  for  which  reason  he  clothes  him- 
self in  the  uniform  of  the  Stadtholder. 

In  consequence  of  this,  and  persuaded  as  I  am  that 
Prince  Henry  has  not  sufficient  influence  over  the  suc- 
cessor (who  is  weary  of  avuncular  despotism)  to  dis- 
place Hertzberg,  who  will  continually  batter  his  enemy 
in  breach,  by  boasting,  by  meannesses,  by  a  faithful 
portrait  of  the  Prince's  creatures,  and  by  the  jealousy 
with  which  he  will  inspire  the  new  King  against  Prince 
Henry,  who,  if  he  be  anything,  will  be  master;  con- 
vinced also  that  he  (Hertzberg)  is  useful  to  France, 
which  is  influenced  by  the  uncle  because  he  holds  the 
English  system  in  abhorrence  I  have  exerted  every 
effort  to  induce  Prince  Henry  (who  wants  nothing  but 
dissimulation)  to  reconcile  himself  with  Count  Hertz- 
berg, and  thus  put  his  nephew  out  of  fear.  This  he 
might  with  the  greater  security  do,  because  Hertzberg, 
relative  to  him,  could  be  nothing  more  than  a  first 
clerk,  who,  if  he  should  act  uprightly,  would  make  as 
good  a  clerk  as  another ;  and  who,  should  he  endeavor 
to  deceive,  might  be  the  more  easily  crushed  after 
having  been  admitted  a  colleague. 

I  have  had  much  difficulty  in  persuading  him,  for 
Baron  Knyphausen,  the  brother-in-law  of  Hertzberg, 
and  his  irreconcilable  enemy,  because  that  their  in- 
terests clash,  is  possessed  of  the  entire  political  con- 
fidence of  the  Prince,  of  which  he  is  worthy,  for 
he  is  a  very  able  man,  and  perhaps  the  only  able 
man  in  Prussia;  but  as  he  is  in  danger  of  a  con- 
firmed palsy  as  his  mind  and  body  both  decay,  and 
as  the  Prince  himself  perceives  they  do,  I  was  able 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        53 

to  effect  my  purpose  by  dwelling  on  all  these  circum- 
stances, while  I  heaped  exaggerated  praise  on  Baron 
Knyphausen,  and  expressed  infinite  regret  for  his  sit- 
uation ;  so  that  I  have  prevailed  on  the  Prince,  and  have 
personally  received  a  commission  to  negotiate  an  ac- 
commodation between  him  and  Hertzberg;  for  which 
purpose  I  shall  go  the  day  after  to-morrow  to  Pots- 
dam. 

What  may  I  augur  from  all  this?  Weakness  only 
and  incoherency.  It  appears  indubitable  that  petty 
cabals,  the  fine  arts,  the  blues,  the  subalterns,  the  ward- 
robe, and  particularly  the  mystics,  will  engross  the  new, 
King.  I  have  anecdotes  innumerable  on  the  subject 
by  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  profit,  and  which  I  shall 
communicate  in  good  time.  Has  he  any  system?  I 
believe  not.  Any  understanding?  Of  that  I  doubt. 
Any  character?  I  cannot  tell;  my  present  opinion  is 
that  no  conclusions,  for  or  against,  ought  yet  to  be 
drawn. 

To  memorials  exceedingly  well  drawn  up  by 
Prince  Henry  and  Baron  Knyphausen,  all  tending  to 
demonstrate  that,  should  Prussia  attach  itself  to  the 
English  system,  fifteen  years  hence  Frederick  William 
will  be  the  Marquis  of  Brandenburg,  he  gives  replies 
which  are  slow,  vague,  laconic,  and  hieroglyphic.  He 
wrote  the  other  day,  for  example  (I  saw  the  letter), 
"  THE  PRINCE  OF  THE  ASTURIAS  is  ALL  ENGLISH." 
Baron  Boden,  however,  who  is  his  confidential  corre- 
spondent, and  who  has  lately  remained  shut  up  with  him 
a  whole  week  in  his  garden  at  Potsdam,  has  protested 
that  the  dispositions  of  the  successor  are  wholly 
French,  and  that  he  had  charged  him  to  endeavor 
to  convert  Hertzberg.  Remark  this.  Remark,  still 
further,  that  Boden  is  a  man  of  low  cunning,  who  may 
wish  to  deceive  Prince  Henry,  in  whose  service  he  for- 
merly was,  with  whom  he  quarreled,  and  to  whom  he  is 


54        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

now  reconciled, — Heaven  knows  by  what  means. 
Observe,  once  again,  that  the  Prince  of  Salm-Kirburg 
has  also  been  (nearly  about  the  same  time)  a  week 
concealed  at  Potsdam.  What  inconsistency? 

It  is  the  advice  of  Prince  Henry  that  Boden,  who  is 
returned  to  Paris,  should  be  tampered  with.  He  also 
wishes  (for  your  great  men  do  not  disdain  little 
means)  that  a  lady  should  be  sent  hither,  of  a  fair  com- 
plexion, rather  fat,  and  with  some  musical  talents,  who 
should  pretend  to  come  from  Italy,  or  anywhere  but 
France;  who  shall  have  had  no  public  amour;  who 
should  appear  rather  disposed  to  grant  favors  than 
to  display  her  poverty,  etc.,  etc.  Some  elegant  trifles 
would  not  be  amiss,  but  take  care  not  to  forget  the 
man  is  avaricious.  The  French  letters,  at  least  those 
which  I  shall  show,  ought  to  speak  well  of  him,  and  to 
report  that  the  King  has  spoken  favorably  of  him; 
particularly  that  he  has  said :  "  This  Prince,  like  me, 
will  be  a  worthy  man."  Repetition  might  be  made  of 
the  success  of  Prince  Henry  in  France;  but  in  this  I 
would  advise  moderation,  for  I  believe  Prince  Henry 
has  spoken  too  much  himself  on  that  subject;  he  has 
pretended  to  prophesy  concerning  the  new  reign,  and 
predictions  are  disagreeable.  Let  me  add  it  is  affirmed 
that,  could  the  new  King  be  gained,  he  would  become 
the  most  faithful  and  the  most  fervent  of  allies;  to 
this  uncle  Henry  pledges  his  honor  and  his  head; 
and,  indeed,  the  Prince  of  Prussia  has  never  for- 
feited his  word.  It  is  added,  as  you  may  well  believe, 
that  it  is  neither  possible  nor  proper  to  require  more, 
for  in  fine  we  are  suspected,  and  with  good  reason,  etc., 
etc. 

You  will  imagine  France  has  not  been  thus  treated 
without  any  pleadings  in  the  behalf  of  Prussia;  and 
the  advocates  have  pretended  to  prove  (the  map  on  the 
table),  alike  by  military  and  political  details,  that  the 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG         55 

alliance  of  Prussia  would  be  much  more  effectual  to 
France,  against  England,  than  that  of  Austria.  If  it 
be  requested,  I  will  draw  up  a  memorial,  according  to 
the  grounds  that  have  been  given  me.  Nor  is  it  at  all 
required  that  we  should  quarrel  with  Vienna;  nothing 
more  is  asked  than  a  treaty  of  confraternity,  agreeable 
to  the  guarantee  of  the  treaty  of  Westphalia;  a  treaty 
well  known  at  all  Courts,  and  with  this  only  secret 
article  that,  should  there  be  any  infringement  of  the 
peace,  we  then  .should  go  further;  and  if  at  the  present 
a  treaty  should  be  refused,  reciprocal  letters  between 
the  two  Kings,  sealed  and  so  left  till  some  event  should 
happen,  would  be  deemed  satisfactory.  In  short,  a 
pledge  is  demanded  against  the  Austrian  system;  and 
the  written  word  of  honor  of  the  King  of  France  will 
be  accepted.  No  subsidies  are  or  will  in  any  case  be 
asked;  perhaps  even  Prussia  will  pay  subsidies  to 
Brunswick  and  Hesse.  Great  complaints  are  made 
of.  France  for  having  permitted  and  even  favored  the 
German  confederation.  "  For  must  not  Germany, 
soon  or  late,  assume  some  consistent  form?  Must  not 
Prussia  acquire  a  frontier?  And  what  other  means 
are  there  than  those  of  secularization,  which  by  this 
confederacy  are  interdicted?  How  otherwise  arrange 
the  affairs  of  Saxony  than  by  Westphalia  and  Liege?  " 
This  latter  phrase  appeared  to  me  very  remarkable. 

I  do  not  nor  cannot  at  present  mean  to  send  any- 
thing more  than  the  great  outlines.  Prince  Henry  is 
French,  and  so  will  live  and  die.  Will  he  have  any 
influence?  I  know  not.  He  is  too  pompous;  and  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  of  a  very  different  complexion,  is 
the  man  necessary  to  the  King  and  the  country,  though 
he  is  not  loved  by  the  former.  However,  I  am  sup- 
plied with  the  secret  means  of  correspondence,  inquiry, 
and  success ;  and  it  could  not  be  more  made  a  common 


56        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

cause  between  us.  I  am  promised  that  my  services  to 
my  country  shall  be  amply  repaid  on  the  day  an  al- 
liance is  concluded  with  France,  etc.,  etc. 

I  forgot  a  curious  fact.  The  Heir  Apparent  wrote 
to  Boden,  before  his  journey  to  Berlin,  to  inquire  what 
the  people  of  Paris  thought  of  him.  "  That  you  will 
be  feeble,  indolent,  and  governed,"  was  the  substance 
of  Boden's  reply.  The  Prince,  as  he  read  the  letter, 
stamped  with  his  foot,  and  exclaimed:  "I  have 
suffered  by  myself  and  I  will  reign  by  myself." 

POSTSCRIPT. — By  the  natural  discharge  of  the  water 
from  the  legs,  which  may  be  calculated  at  a  pint  per 
diem,  the  swelling  of  the  scrotum  has  disappeared;  the 
patient  imagines  the  general  inflation  is  diminished. 
It  is  probable  he  is  feverish  every  night ;  but  of  this  he 
endeavors  to  remain  ignorant.  His  appetite  is  so  ex- 
traordinary that  he  generally  eats  ten  or  twelve  of  the 
highest  dishes.  His  supper  and  breakfast  consist  of 
smoked  tongues,  bread,  butter,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
pepper.  If  he  feels  his  stomach  oppressed  by  its  load, 
which  is  usually  the  case,  he  has  recourse  an  hour  or 
two  after  dinner  to  a  dose  of  anima  rhci.  He  wishes 
to  have  six  or  seven  motions  in  the  twenty-four  hours, 
exclusive  of  clysters.  From  all  this  you  may  gather 
the  result,  which  is  that  we  are  incontestibly  at  the 
last  scene,  more  or  less  protracted. 


LETTER  XIV 

August   17th,   1786. 

ALL  is  over! — Frederick  William  reigns — and  one  of 
the  grandest  characters  that  ever  occupied  the  throne 
has  burst  one  of  the  finest  molds  that  nature  ever 
organized ! 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        59 


r 


The  vanity  of  friendship  was  highly  interested  that 
you  should  be  the  first  informed  of  this  event ;  and  my 
measures  were  all  most  carefully  taken.  On  Wednes- 
day, at  eight  in  the  morning,  I  knew  he  was  as  ill  as 
possible;  that  the  preceding  day  the  hour  of  appoint- 
ment for  the  day  following  was  noon,  instead  of  eleven 
o'clock,  as  was  before  customary;  that  he  had  not 
spoken  to  his  secretaries  till  midday,  who  had  been 
waiting  from  five  in  the  morning;  that,  however,  the 
dispatches  had  been  clear  and  precise ;  and  that  he  still 
had  eaten  excessively,  and  particularly  a  lobster.  I 
further  knew  that  the  prodigious  foulness  of  the 
sick  chamber,  and  the  damp  clothes  of  the  patient, 
which  he  wore  without  changing,  appeared  to  have 
brought  on  a  species  of  putrid  fever ;  that  the  slumbers 
of  this  Wednesday  approached  lethargy;  that  every 
symptom  foreboded  an  apoplectic  dropsy,  a  dissolution 
of  the  brain;  and  that,  in  fine,  the  scene  must  close  in 
a  few  hours. 

At  one  o'clock  I  took  an  airing  on  horseback,  on  the 
road  to  Potsdam,  impelled  by  I  know  not  what  fore- 
boding, and  also  to  observe  the  meanderings  of  the 
river,  which  is  on  the  right,  when  a  groom,  riding  full 
speed,  came  for  the  physician  Zelle,  who  received 
orders  to  make  all  haste,  and  who  instantly  departed. 
I  soon  was  informed  that  the  groom  had  killed  a 
horse. 

.  I  was  thrown  into  some  perplexity.  That  the  city 
gates  would  be  shut  was  certain;  it  was  even  possible 
that  the  drawbridges  of  the  island  of  Potsdam  would 
be  raised  the  moment  death  should  take  place,  and 
should  this  happen  my  uncertainty  would  continue  as 
long  as  it  should  please  the  new  King.  On  the  first 
supposition — how  send  off  a  courier?  There  were  no 
means  of  scaling  the  ramparts  or  the  palisades,  with- 
out being  exposed  to  a  fray,  for  there  are  sentinels  at 


58        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

every  forty  paces  behind  the  palisades,  and  at  every 
fifty  behind  the  wall.  What  was  to  be  done?  I  had 
not  received,  could  not  receive  any  orders ;  I  could  only 
use  my  own  resources.  And  ought  I  to  expose  myself 
to  ridicule,  by  sending  intelligence  already  known,  or 
concerning  an  event  so  well  foreseen?  Was  the  loss 
or  gain  of  a  week  worth  the  expense  of  a  courier? 
Had  I  been  Ambassador,  the  certain  symptoms  of  mor- 
tality would  have  determined  me  to  have  sent  off  an 
express  before  death.  For  what  addition  was  the 
word  death?  How  was  I  to  act  in  my  present  situa- 
tion? It  certainly  was  most  important  to  serve,  and 
not  merely  to  appear  to  have  served.  I  hastened  to 
the  French  Ambassador.  He  was  not  at  home;  he 
dined  at  Charlottenburg.  No  means  of  joining  him  at 
Berlin.  I  dressed  myself,  hurried  to  Schoenhausen, 
and  arrived  at  the  palace  of  the  Queen  as  soon  as  the 
Ambassador.  He  had  not  been  informed  of  particu- 
lars, and  did  not  imagine  the  King  was  so  ill;  not  a 
Minister  believed  it;  the  Queen  had  no  suspicion  of  it; 
she  only  spoke  to  me  of  my  dress,  of  Rheinsberg,  and 
of  the  happiness  she  had  there  enjoyed  when  Princess 
Royal.  Lord  Dalrymple,  with  whom  I  was  too  in- 
timate to  admit  of  dissembling  what  my  opinion  was, 
assured  me  I  was  deceived.  "  That  may  be,"  replied 
I;  but  I  whispered  to  our  Ambassador  that  I  had  my 
intelligence  from  the  sick  couch,  and  that  he  ought  to 
believe  stock-jobbers  had  as  good  information  as  the 
diplomatic  body.  I  know  not  whether  he  believed  me ; 
but,  like  me,  he  would  not  sit  down  to  play,  and  left 
the  company  soon  enough  to  send  news  of  the  ap- 
proach of  death. 

I  still  had  great  reason  to  be  diffident  of  the  activity 
of  our  Embassy.  How  did  I  act?  I  sent  a  man,  on 
whom  I  could  depend,  with  a  strong  and  swift  horse 
to  a  farm,  four  miles  from  Berlin,  from  the  master  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        59 

which  I  had  some  days  before  received  two  pairs  of 
pigeons,  an  experiment  on  the  flight  of  which  had  been 
made;  so  that,  unless  the  bridges  of  the  isle  of  Pots- 
dam were  raised,  I  acted  with  certainty;  and,  that  I 
might  not  have  a  single  chance  against  me,  for  I 
thought  the  news  tardy  in  arriving,  I  sent  M.  de  Nolde 
by  the  daily  stage,  with  orders  to  wait  at  the  bridge  of 
the  island.  He  was  acquainted  with  the  station  of  my 
other  man;  the  raising  of  the  bridges  would  speak 
plainly  enough;  he  had  money  sufficient  to  push  for- 
ward; there  was  no  human  power  apparently  that 
could  counteract  me,  for  my  gentry  had  not  a  single 
Prussian  post  to  pass,  and  were  to  proceed  to  Saxony, 
taking  care  not  to  go  through  any  fortified  place; 
and  they  had  their  route  ready  traced. 

M.  de  Nolde  was  departing  at  half  past  six  in  the 
morning,  with  the  stage,  when  General  Goertiz,  aide- 
de-camp  to  the  late  King,  arriving  full  speed,  called 
aloud :  "  In  the  King's  name,  lower  the  portcullis," 
and  M.  de  Nolde  was  obliged  to  turn  back!  Five 
minutes  after,  I  was  on  horseback;  my  horses  had 
passed  the  night  saddled ;  and,  that  I  might  omit  noth- 
ing, I  hastened  to  the  French  Ambassador.  He  was 
asleep.  I  wrote  to  him  immediately  that  I  knew  a  cer- 
tain mode  of  conveyance,  if  he  had  anything  to  send. 
He  answered,  and  I  keep  his  note  as  a  curious  proof  if, 
which,  however,  to  me  appears  impossible,  the  Comte 
de  Vergennes  keeps  no  courier, — "  The  Comte  d'Es- 
terno  has  the  honor  to  return  thanks  to  Mirabeau,  but 
cannot  profit  by  his  obliging  offer." 

I  then  reflected,  either  he  had  sent  off  a  courier,  who 
only  could  convey  the  news  of  the  King's  extreme 
danger,  consequently  there  must  be  something  to  add, 
or  he  had  received  orders  not  to  send  any;  otherwise 
his  apathy  was  wholly  inconceivable.  I,  moreover, 
knew  that  the  Saxon  envoy  had  sent  off  his  chasseur 


60        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

on  the  eve,  so  that  he  was  twenty  hours  and  forty 
leagues  in  advance  with  me;  it  therefore  was  wholly 
improbable  that  M.  de  Vibraye  at  Dresden  should 
not  hear  of  the  King's  danger.  The  same  might  be 
conjectured  of  the  aide-de-camp  Whittinkoff,  who 
bore  the  news  to  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Brunswick, 
and  would  certainly  spread  it,  so  that  nothing  was  left 
for  me  till  absolute  death  should  happen.  After  con- 
sidering, I  did  not  find  we  were  rich  enough  to  throw 
a  hundred  guineas  away;  I  therefore  renounced  all 
my  fine  projects,  which  had  cost  me  some  thought, 
some  trouble,  and  some  guineas;  and  I  let  fly  my 
pigeons  to  my  man  with  the  word  RETURN. 

Have  I  done  well,  or  ill  ?  Of  this  I  am  ignorant ;  but 
I  had  no  express  orders,  and  sometimes  works  of 
supererogation  gain  but  little  applause.  I  have  thought 
it  my  duty  to  send  you  this  account;  first,  because  it 
may  be  of  service  (observe  that  several  prizes  have 
thus  been  gained)  ;  and  secondly,  to  prove  that  I 
wanted  neither  zeal  or  activity,  but  effrontery. 

The  new  King  remained  all  Thursday  at  Sans  Souci, 
in  the  apartment  of  General  Moellendorf.  His  first 
act  of  sovereignty  was  to  bestow  the  order  of  the 
Black  Eagle  on  Count  Hertzberg.  At  five  in  the 
morning,  his  Majesty  was  busy  with  the  secretaries  of 
the  late  King.  This  morning  he  was  on  horseback  in 
the  streets  of  Berlin,  accompanied  by  his  eldest  son. 
Thursday  presented  a  spectacle  worthy  of  observation. 

There  were  many  wet  eyes,  even  among  the  foreign 
Ambassadors;  for  they  were  all  present,  the  French 
excepted,  when  the  troops  took  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

The  ceremony  is  awful,  and  would  be  more  so  if  the 
oath,  which  the  soldiers  repeat  word  by  word,  were 
not  so  long.  Yet  this  vast  military  paraphernalia, 
that  multitude  of  soldiers,  who  all  the  morning 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        61 

swarmed  in  the  streets,  and  the  precipitate  adminis- 
tering of  the  legionary  oath,  seem  but  to  me  too  ex- 
clusively to  proclaim  the  military  power;  seem  but  to 
SAY:  I  AM  MORE  ESPECIALLY  THE  KING  OF  THE  SOL- 
DIERS. I  COMMIT  MYSELF  TO  MY  ARMY,  BECAUSE  I 
AM  NOT  CERTAIN  OF  POSSESSING  A  KINGDOM.  I  am 

persuaded  these  military  forms  will  be  mitigated  under 
the  new  reign. 


LETTER    XV 

August  iSth,  1786. 

PRINCE  HENRY  received  information  of  the  decease 
somewhat  late;  not  till  yesterday,  the  seventeenth,  at 
midnight.  But  this,  perhaps,  was  occasioned  by  their 
desire  to  send  him  one  of  his  favorite  officers,  who 
was  a  very  bad  horseman.  The  letter  of  the  King  was 
a  page  and  a  half  in  length,  written  by  his  own  hand, 
and  inviting  the  Prince  to  come,  who  arrived  to-day  at 
three  in  the  afternoon.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark,  his 
aide-de-camp  came  for  me;  and  what  follows  is  the 
substance  of  the  Prince's  narrative. 

He  has  had  an  interview  of  an  hour  and  a  half  with 
the  King,  but  is  no  further  advanced  in  the  knowledge 
of  what  he  shall  hereafter  be.  The  King  was  devoid 
of  ostentation  in  his  behavior  to  his  family;  and  was 
very  much  moved  with  the  Prince,  says  the  latter,  but 
no  way  communicative.  The  uncle  only  attempted  to 
speak  of  foreign  politics.  His  request  in  behalf  of 
his  favorite,  Tauensien,  captain  and  aide-de-camp  to 
his  Royal  Highness,  was  immediately  granted. 

"  Resolved  on  the  French  system,  but  desirous  of 
seeing—  "  Why?  "  "  Dignity,  prudence,  the  alarm- 
ing discontents  of  Holland."  "  Are  you  brother  or 
King?  as  brother  interest  yourself;  as  King  do  not 


62        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

interfere,  you  will  but  have  the  greater  influence." 
'  Your  father,  whose  name  you  cannot  pronounce 
without  weeping,  was  as  much  French  as  I  am;  this 
I  will  demonstrate  by  his  letters."  "  Oh,  I  have  seen 
proofs  of  that,"  replied  the  King,  "  in  those  of  the 
Queen  of  Sweden." 

"  Vienna."  "  Advances  it  is  supposed  will  be  made; 
they  will  be  accepted;  the  war  of  peace  will  actually 
be  concluded." 

"  The  English  system  ?  "  "  God  preserve  me  from 
it!  "  "  Russia?  "  "  It  has  scarcely  been  thought  on." 

The  whole  day  passed  in  well-managed  artifice. 
The  King  was  on  horseback  with  his  eldest  son;  he 
addressed  his  generals  with  caresses  of  every  kind : 
"If  you  serve  less  faithfully  than  formerly,  I,  by 
being  obliged  to  punish,  shall  be  the  person  punished." 
He  spoke  a  little  more  seriously  to  the  Ministers,  with 
whom,  notwithstanding,  he  dined.  Severely  to  the 
secretaries — "  I  well  know  you  have  been  guilty  of 
indiscretions;  I  would  advise  you  to  change  your 
behavior." 

Hertzberg  hitherto  preserves  all  his  consequence. 
The  King  has  not  once  pronounced  his  name  to  Prince 
Henry,  nor  the  Prince  to  the  King.  His  Majesty, 
however,  tenderly  embraced  Count  Finckenstein,  a 
true  French  knight-errant,  and  the  only  person,  after 
Knyphausen,  in  whom  Prince  Henry  confides;  that  is 
to  say,  willingly.  "  I  thank  you,"  said  the  King,  "  for 
the  eminent  services  you  have  been  so  indefatigable 
in  rendering  my  uncle;  and  I  request  you  will  act  in 
the  same  manner  for  my  interest."  It  is  to  be  noted 
that  Count  Finckenstein  is  the  implacable  enemy  of 
Hertzberg,  but  the  uncle  of  the  dearly  beloved  Made- 
moiselle Voss. 

The  will  is  to  be  opened  to-morrow,  in  presence  of 
those  interested.  The  King  will  not  attempt  to  alter 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        63 

a  single  line,  one  article  excepted,  the  necessity  of 
erasing-  which  he  will  submit  to  his  uncles.  The  old 
Monarch  has  been  generous.  He  has  bequeathed 
Prince  Henry  two  hundred  thousand  crowns  and  a 
handsome  ring,  exclusive  of  what  will  revert  to  him 
by  the  family  agreement.  The  rest  are  likewise  well 
treated,  but  not  so  magnificently. 

The  funeral  ceremony  afforded  Prince  Henry  a 
proper  excuse  for  remaining;  it  is  to  be  performed  at 
Potsdam.  The  King  will  depart  thence  to  receive 
homage  in  Prussia  and  Silesia;  this  is  an  old  custom 
of  the  country.  Prince  Henry  will  come  to  an  ex- 
planation previous  to  his  journey;  but  he  is  determined 
to  wait  as  long  as  possible,  that  the  King  may  begin 
the  subject  himself. 

Speaking  of  me,  his  Majesty  said :  "  I  suspect  he  is 
ordered  to  observe  me ;  his  love  for  the  Emperor  prob- 
ably will  not  expose  him  to  the  temptation  of  speaking 
ill  of  me,  when  there  is  nothing  ill  to  be  spoken." 

Prince  Henry  fears  that,  the  mode  of  life  excepted, 
the  method  and  especially  the  ceremonies  of  Govern- 
ment will  be  continued.  He  has  charged  me  to  men- 
tion that  Comte  d'Esterno  is  much  too  cold,  too  dis- 
tant, too  entirely  an  Ambassador,  for  the  new  King. 
He  entreats  our  Ministry  not  to  be  tedious  in  bargain- 
ing concerning  the  pledges  of  confidence. 

It  is  said,  and  I  forgot  to  ask  Prince  Henry,  who 
perhaps  does  not  know,  whether  it  be  or  be  not  true, 
that  the  King  has  sent  for  the  Duke  of  Brunswick. 
The  Minister,  Schulemburg,  is  in  danger.  Prince 
Henry,  by  whom  he  has  so  long  been  hated  and  de- 
cried, is  resolved  to  give  him  support.  Schulemburg 
returned  only  this  morning.  He  has  composed,  or 
rather  made  Struensee  compose,  an  apologetic  me- 
morial, adroit  and  sophistical,  in  which  he  has  imputed 
to  the  late  King  that  order  of  affairs  which  he  pro- 


64        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OE 

poses  to  remedy.  He  declaims  against  monopolies, — 
he,  who  is  himself  at  the  head  of  all  the  monopolies; 
but  he  endeavors  to  prove  they  cannot  be  suddenly 
reformed,  especially  that  of  the  maritime  company. 


LETTER  XVI 

August  22d,   1786. 

PRINCE  HENRY  is  singularly  well  satisfied  with  the 
new  King,  who  the  day  before  yesterday  (Sunday) 
spent  the  greatest  part  of  the  afternoon  with  his  uncle. 
The  latter  went  to  him  in  the  morning  to  know  the 
watchword.  He  pretends  his  nephew  indicates  an 
entire  confidence  in  him ;  but  I  fear  he  interprets  com- 
pliments into  pledges  of  trust.  He  affirms  the  down- 
fall of  Hertzberg  approaches;  this  I  do  not  believe. 
"  I  and  my  nephew,"  said  the  Prince,  "  have  been  very 
explicit;"  but  I  doubt  the  nephew  has  deceived  the 
uncle.  The  conciliating  temper  of  the  King,  and  his 
good-nature,  which  induce  him  to  receive  all  with 
kindness,  may  likewise  lead  to  error,  without  intend- 
ing deception;  and  these  rather  prove  he  possesses 
sensibility  than  strength  of  mind. 

Prince  Henry  affirms  that  the  King  is  entirely 
French.  He  requests  that  no  attention  may  be  paid  to 
the  sending  of  Colonel  or  Major  Geysau  to  London, 
with  accession  compliments;  these,  he  affirms,  relate 
only  to  the  family.  The  King  has  besides  been  de- 
ceived; he  was  told  that  the  Court  of  St.  James  had 
sent  compliments  at  the  death  of  King  George,  which 
is  not  true.  This,  it  is  added,  is  an  artifice  of  Count 
Hertzberg.  Prince  Henry  did  not  arrive  soon  enough 
to  prevent  the  thing  being  done ;  were  it  to  do  again 
it  should  be  otherwise.  (Remark,  it  is  the  Prince  him- 
self who  speaks.)  No  one  has  been  sent  either  to 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        65 

Vienna  or  to  Petersburg.  (Not  to  Vienna,  to  the 
chief  of  the  Empire,  who  is  almost  as  near  a  relation 
as  the  King  of  England.  And  as  to  Petersburg,  Ro- 
manzow  has  made  such  bitter  complaints  that  Count 
Finckenstein,  moderate  as  he  is,  demanded  whether 
he  had  received  orders  from  his  Court  to  speak  in 
that  style.)  But  it  is  singular  enough  that  envoys 
have  been  sent  everywhere  else;  and  particularly 
Count  Charles  Podewils  (brother  to  him  who  is  at 
Vienna)  is  gone  to  bear  the  news  to  Sweden.  This 
is  departing  from  the  old  system,  to  which,  it  is  said, 
the  King  means,  in  other  respects,  to  adhere ;  for  the 
King  of  Sweden  was  held  in  aversion  by  the  late 
King;  nor  is  he  less  hated  by  Prince  Henry.  Count 
Stein,  a  kind  of  domestic  favorite,  is  gone  to  Saxony, 
Weymar,  Deux-Ponts,  etc. 

Prince  Henry  wishes  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Af- 
fairs should  write,  and  immediately,  that  the  Court  of 
France  hopes  the  new  King  will  confirm  the  friendship 
his  predecessor  began ;  and  should  give  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  all  the  Prussian  Ministers  are  not  supposed 
to  mean  as  well,  toward  France,  as  the  King  himself 
(I  am  not  at  all  of  this  opinion;  for  this  would  be  to 
distinguish  Hertzberg,  and  to  render  the  war  against 
our  Cabinet  more  inveterate.  If  the  downfall  of  this 
Minister  be  necessary,  it  can  be  effected  only  by  taxing 
him  with  governing  the  King),  and  that  the  recipro- 
city of  good  will  and  good  offices  may,  and  ought  to, 
produce  a  more  intimate  connection.  He  wishes  M. 
de  Calonne  might  write  soon  to  him  (Prince  Henry) 
a  friendly  and  ostensible  letter,  but  which  ought  to  be 
sent  by  safe  hands;  that  it  should  be  recommended 
to  Comte  d'Esterno  to  smooth  his  brow;  and  he  is 
particularly  desirous  a  mode  of  somewhat  calming  the 
affairs  of  Holland  should  be  found,  and  that  this  act 
should  be  much  praised  and  insisted  on. 


66        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  has  been  sent  for,  and  is 
to  arrive  on  Thursday.  It  is  said  he  brings  another 
will,  which  was  deposited  in  his  hands.  The  first  was 
not  read  before  the  family,  but  only  in  presence  of  the 
two  uncles  and  the  two  Ministers.  The  legatees  have 
all  received  their  bequests.  The  date  of  this  will  is 
1769.  It  is  in  a  pompous  style,  and  is  written  with 
labor  and  declamation.  The  King  has  been  exceed- 
ingly attentive  to  specify  that  his  legacies  are  made 
from  the  savings  of  his  privy  purse. 

The  following  is  a  sketch  of  his  donations:  The 
Queen  has  an  annual  augmentation  to  her  income  of 
ten  thousand  crowns.  Prince  Henry  has  the  gross 
sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  crowns,  a  large  green 
diamond,  a  luster  of  rock  crystal  estimated  at  fifteen 
thousand  crowns,  a  set  of  eight  coach  horses,  two  led 
horses  richly  caparisoned,  and  fifty  anteaux,  or  small 
casks  of  Hungarian  wine.  Prince  Ferdinand  the  gross 
sum  of  fifty  thousand  crowns,  and  some  Hungarian 
wine.  Princess  Ferdinand  ten  thousand  crowns  an- 
nually (the  reason  of  this  was  that,  in  1769,  she  was 
the  only  Princess  of  her  house  who  had  any  children), 
and  a  box.  Princess  Henry  six  thousand  crowns  an- 
nually. The  Duchess  Dowager  of  Brunswick  ten 
thousand  crowns  annually.  The  Princess  Amelia  ten 
thousand  crowns  annually,  and  all  the  personal  plate 
of  the  late  King.  The  Princess  of  Wurtemberg  the 
gross  sum  of  twenty  thousand  crowns.  The  Duke  of 
Wurtemberg  a  ring.  The  Landgrave  of  Hesse  the 
gross  sum  of  ten  thousand  crowns.  Prince  Frederick 
of  Brunswick  the  same.  The  reigning  Duke  of 
Brunswick  the  same,  with  eight  horses  (among  others, 
the  last  that  Frederick  mounted)  and  a  diamond  ring, 
estimated  at  twenty-two  thousand  crowns,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

The  King  has  confirmed  all  this  with  a  very  good 
grace.  The  only  article  that  he  will  not  agree  to  was 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        67 

a  strange  whim  of  the  late  King,  relative  to  the  inter- 
ment of  his  body;  he  wished  to  be  buried  beside  his 
dogs.  Such  is  the  last  mark  of  contempt  which  he 
thought  proper  to  cast  upon  mankind.  I  know  not 
whether  the  will  that  is  coming  will  be  equally  re- 
spected with  that  already  opened,  even  though  they 
should  not  be  contradictory. 

As  to  the  situation  of  the  Court,  I  believe  the  truth 
to  be  that  Prince  Henry  exaggerates  his  ascendency; 
and  that  he  is  in  absolute  ignorance  of  the  King's  in- 
tentions. They  prattle  much  together,  but  there  is  no 
single  point  on  which  they  have  yet  come  to  any  stipu- 
lation. True  it  is  that  five  days  are  scarcely  yet 
elapsed.  But  wherefore  presume?  The  Prince  sup- 
ports the  Minister,  Schulemburg;  and  I  know  that 
Schulemburg  found  the  King  dry  and  cold.  He  had 
one  choice  for  the  French  Embassy;  and  I  know  the 
King  has  another,  which  he  has  not  even  concealed 
from  the  Prince.  The  Monarch  hears  all,  but  is  in 
nothing  explicit.  Bishopswerder  himself  perhaps  does 
not  know  what  he  is  to  be,  and  if  he  be  prudent,  will 
not  be  in  too  great  haste. 

I  have  twice  seen  Count  Hertzberg,  and  found  him 
still  the  same,  a  small  portion  of  dissimulation  ex- 
cepted.  He  very  positively  denied  being  English.  He 
does  not  seem  to  me  to  think  he  has  the  least  need  of 
Prince  Henry,  whom  he  has  not  been  to  visit  (which 
is  very  marked,  or  rather  indecent  behavior)  since 
his  promotion  to  the  Order  of  the  Black  Eagle.  I 
wished  to  insinuate  to  him  that  it  would  be  easy  to 
consult  the  uncle  by  the  aid  of  the  nephew;  this  he 
declined,  but  gave  me  an  apologetic  memorial  for 
Prince  Henry,  relative  to  his  personal  discussions  with 
Baron  Knyphausen.  Either  Prince  Henry  or  Hertz- 
berg,  or  both,  are  much  deceived.  Hertzberg  certainly 
sups  almost  every  night  with  the  King;  and  the  opin- 
3 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


68        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

ion  of  some  well-informed  people  is  that  this  Minister, 
and  General  Moellendorf,  will  be  appointed  to  educate 
the  Prince  of  Prussia. 

The  Marquis  of  Luchesini  is  continued  in  his  place 
by  the  present  King;  but  hitherto  he  has  only  been 
desired  to  write  the  poem  for  the  funeral.  The  sec- 
retary of  Prince  Henry,  it  is  said,  is  to  compose  the 
music;  and  this  is  one  of  the  things  which  turn  the 
uncle's  brain. 

I  have  sent  the  King  my  grand  Memorial ;  he  has 
only  acknowledge  having  received  it,  adding  that  I 
might  remain  persuaded  whatever  should  come  from 
me  would  give  him  pleasure;  and  that,  of  all  the  oblig- 
ing things  that  were  said  to  him,  none  flattered  him 
more  highly  than  mine. 

P.  S. — The  Ministers  took  the  oath  of  allegiance 
yesterday,  about  three  o'clock;  hence,  no  probable 
changes  for  some  time  to  come.  Count  Arnim  Boyt- 
zemburg,  sent  for  by  the  King,  arrived  with  all  haste, 
and  passed  the  evening  with  his  Majesty.  I  believe 
him  proper  for  nothing  but  a  place  about  Court;  it 
may,  however,  have  relation  to  the  Embassy  to  France, 
but  more  probably  to  the  place  of  Grand  Marshal,  or 
that  of  Minister  of  the  Landschafft,  a  kind  of  presi- 
dent of  the  provinces,  who  greatly  influences  the  as- 
sessments of  the  taxes,  and  other  internal  arrange- 
ments. 


LETTER    XVII 

August  26th,   1786. 

I  FEAR  my  prophecies  will  be  accomplished.  Prince 
Henry  appears  to  me  to  have  gained  nothing  but 
bows  from  his  nephew.  One  article  of  the  will  of 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        69 

the  King's  grandfather  disposed  of  the  succession  of 
certain  bailliages,,  so  as  to  bequeath  an  accession  of 
income,  of  about  forty  or  fifty  thousand  crowns,  to 
Prince  Henry,  including  an  augmentation  of  the  rev- 
enue of  Prince  Ferdinand.  Circumstances  not  being 
exactly  the  same  now  as  supposed  by  the  testator,  the 
Ministers  (that  is  to  say,  Hertzberg)  have  pretended 
that  this  bequest  no  longer  was  legal;  and  the  King, 
eluding  to  grant  the  legacy,  has  made  a  proposal  to 
his  uncle  to  have  the  suit  determined,  either  in  Ger- 
many, France  or  Italy.  The  Prince  has  written  an 
ingenious  and  noble  letter  to  him,  but  in  which  he  in- 
dicates the  enemy.  The  King  has  redoubled  his  out- 
ward caresses  for  his  uncle,  and  has  submitted  to 
three  judges,  who  have  been  nominated  by  the  Prince. 
I  hence  conclude  that  the  uncle  will  gain  the  suit  of 
the  bailliages,  but  never  that  of  the  regency. 

Hertzberg,  however,  has  commissioned  me  to  make 
some  advances  from  himself  to  the  Prince,  and  this  I 
think  is  a  sign  that  he  is  not  in  perfect  security.  I 
never  could  prevail  on  the  Prince  to  comply;  some- 
times inflated,  sometimes  agitated,  he  neither  could 
command  his  countenance  nor  his  first  emotions.  He 
is  deceitful,  yet  knows  not  how  to  dissemble ;  endowed 
with  ideas,  wit,  and  even  a  portion  of  understanding, 
but  has  not  a  single  opinion  of  his  own.  Petty  means, 
petty  councils,  petty  passions,  petty  prospects;  all  is 
diminutive  in  the  soul  of  that  man.  While  he  makes 
gigantic  pretensions,  he  has  a  mind  without  method; 
is  as  haughty  as  an  upstart,  and  as  vain  as  a  man  who 
had  no  claim  to  respect;  he  can  neither  lead  nor  be 
led.  He  is  one  of  too  frequent  examples  that  insignifi- 
cance of  character  may  stifle  the  greatest  qualities. 

The  thing  the  new  King  fears  the  most  is  being 
thought  to  be  governed;  and  in  this  respect  Prince 
Henry,  of  all  men,  is  the  least  adapted  to  the  Mon- 


70        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

arch;  who  I  believe  would  consent  not  to  reign,  pro- 
vided he  might  only  be  supposed  to  reign. 

Remarkable  change!  The  general  directory  is  re- 
stored to  the  footing  on  which  it  was  under  Frederick 
William  I.  This  is  a  wise  act.  The  result  of  the  mad- 
ness of  innovation,  under  Frederick  II.,  was  that,  of 
all  the  Kings  in  Europe,  he  was  the  most  deceived. 
The  mania  of  expediting  the  whole  affairs  of  a  king- 
dom in  one  hour  and  a  half  was  the  cause  that  the 
Ministers  were  each  of  them  absolute  in  their  depart- 
ments. At  present,  all  must  be  determined  in  a  com- 
mittee; each  will  have  occasion  of  the  consent  and 
sanction  of  all  the  rest.  In  a  word,  it  is  a  kind  of 
Council.  This,  no  doubt,  will  have  its  inconveniences ; 
but  how  are  inconveniences  to  be  avoided? 

The  edict  for  suppressing  the  Lotto  is  signed,  as  I 
am  assured.  I  shall  at  least  have  done  this  much  good 
to  the  country.  But  the  King  has  permitted  the  last 
drawing,  which  is  wrong;  there  ought  to  have  been 
none  under  his  reign.  Perhaps  it  is  only  popular 
report. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  arrived  this  evening.  M. 
Ardenberg-Reventlau,  a  man  of  merit  and  his  favor- 
ite Minister — though  M.  Feronce  is  the  principal — 
preceded  him,  and  was  here  at  a  quarter  after  four. 
The  Duke  was  admitted  to  see  his  Majesty,  who  rises 
at  four  o'clock;  at  half  after  six  he  was  on  the  parade. 
The  King  received  him  with  neither  distance  nor  ar- 
dor. Perhaps  nothing  more  is  meant  by  this  journey 
than  politeness.  Necessity  only  could  make  such  a 
man  Prime  Minister,  who  will  not  trouble  himself 
with  fruitless  efforts,  but  who  will  be  very  tenacious 
in  his  grasp.  I  shall  not  converse  with  him  till  to- 
morrow. The  will  he  brings  will  probably  be  burned ; 
it  is  said  to  be  of  a  much  earlier  date  than  the  other, 
and  as  far  back  as  1755. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        71 

The  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Cassel,  it  is  affirmed,  is 
coming;  also  the  Duke  of  Weymar,  the  Prince  de 
Deux-Ponts,  and  even  the  Duke  of  York.  Of  the  lat- 
ter I  doubt. 

Hertzberg  pretends  that  the  King,  by  becoming  the 
pledge  of  the  Stadtholder,  ought  to  make  us  easy  con- 
cerning Holland,  but  he  has  not  told  us  who  shall 
make  the  pledge  respected. 

Prince  Henry  wishes  advice  should  be  sent  that 
Count  Hertzberg,  who  has  not  the  good  word  of  the 
world,  appears  to  have  gained  the  entire  confidence 
of  the  King,  and  even  to  act  the  master.  This  last 
imputation  is  probably  the  most  effectual  method  to 
procure  the  downfall  of  any  man,  under  the  present 
sign. 

There  are  many  small  Court  favors  granted,  but  no 
considerable  place  bestowed.  I  have  attempted  to 
reconcile  Hertzberg  and  Knyphausen,  which  I  was  in 
a  train  to  accomplish,  by  demonstrating  to  them  that 
their  coalition  would  erect  a  throne  which  could  not 
be  shaken.  Knyphausen  refused,  because,  alleged  he, 
Hertzberg  is  so  deceitful  it  can  never  be  known 
whether  the  reconciliation  is  or  is  not  sincere ;  "  and 
it  is  better,"  said  the  Baron,  "  to  be  the  open  enemy 
than  the  equivocal  friend  of  a  man  whose  credit  is 
superior  to  our  own." 

I  am  inclined  to  think  Hertzberg  must  be  displaced, 
if  we  wish  the  Prussians  should  become  French. 
Three  months  are  necessary  to  draw  any  conclusions 
that  should  be  at  all  reasonable.  I  again  repeat,  if 
you  have  any  grand  political  views,  relative  to  this 
country  and  Germany,  put  an  end  to  the  democratical 
quarrels  of  Holland;  which  are  only  the  disputes  of 
cunning,  profitable  to  those  who  have  their  fortunes  to 
make,  but  not  to  those  whose  fortunes  are  made. 


72        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

LETTER  XVIII 

August  2gth,   1786. 

To  PROPHESY  here  daily  becomes  more  difficult;  time 
only  can  afford  any  rational  prognostics.  The  King 
apparently  intends  to  renounce  all  his  old  habits; 
this  is  a  proud  undertaking.  He  has  made  three  visits 
to  Schoenhausen,  nor  has  he  cast  one  look  on  Made- 
moiselle Voss;  no  semblance  of  an  orgia;  not  one 
woman's  bosom  touched  since  he  has  sat  on  the  throne. 
One  of  his  confidants  proposed  a  visit  to  Charlotten- 
burg.  "  No,"  replied  he ;  "  all  my  former  allurements 
are  there."  He  retires  before  ten  in  the  evening,  and 
rises  at  four;  he  works  excessively,  and  certainly  with 
some  difficulty.  Should  he  persevere,  he  will  afford 
a  singular  example  of  habits  of  thirty  years  being 
vanquished.  This  will  be  an  indubitable  proof  of  a 
grand  character,  and  show  how  we  have  all  been  mis- 
taken. But  even,  the  supposition  granted,  which  is  so 
far  from  probable,  how  deficient  are  his  understand- 
ing and  his  means.  I  say  how  deficient,  since  even  his 
most  ecstatic  panegyrists  begin  by  giving  up  his  under- 
standing. The  last  day  that  he  exercised  the  troops 
he  was  ridiculously  slow,  heavy,  and  monotonous. 
The  men  were  four  times  ranged  in  columns,  and  con- 
cluded with  parading.  This  continued  three  hours, 
and  in  the  presence  of  a  general  such  as  is  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick.  Everybody  was  dissatisfied.  Yester- 
day, the  first  Court  day,  he  was  ill;  he  forgot  some  of 
the  foreign  Ministers,  and  uttered  nothing  but  a  few 
commonplace  phrases,  hasty,  embarrassed,  and  ill- 
chosen  ;  this  scarcely  continued  five  minutes.  He  im- 
mediately left  us  to  go  to  church ;  for  he  does  not 
miss  church;  and  religious  zeal,  homilies,  and  pulpit 
flatteries  already  begin  to  be  everywhere  heard  and  seen. 
Prince  Henry  has  gained  his  suit,  concerning  the 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG         73 

bailliages,  as  I  had  foreseen ;  in  other  respects,  he  has 
not  advanced  a  step,  consequently  has  gone  backward. 
He  dines  every  day  with  the  King,  and  does  wrong; 
he  affects  to  whisper  with  him,  and  does  wrong;  he 
speaks  to  him  of  public  affairs  incessantly,  and  does 
wrong.  The  King  goes  alone  to  visit  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick;  and  also  goes  in  company  with  Hertz- 
berg,  or  meets  him  at  the  Duke's.  The  latter  pretends 
to  interfere  only  with  the  army, — the  sole  thing  which, 
according  to  him,  he  understands.  I  have  never  yet 
seen  him  in  private,  but  he  has  appointed  me  an  audi- 
ence on  Wednesday  morning. 

The  English  faction  continues  very  active,  and  this 
proves  there  are  difficulties  to  encounter.  In  reality, 
it  is  an  alliance  so  unnatural,  when  compared  to  ours, 
that  it  seems  to  me  we  should  not  suffer  ourselves, 
though  the  King  should  commit  blunders,  to  be  routed 
by  his  mistakes. 

The  Monarch  becomes  very  difficult  effectually  to 
observe.  He  reverts  to  the  severe  ceremonies  of  Ger- 
man etiquette.  It  is  imagined  he  will  not  receive  for- 
eigners, at  least  for  some  time.  I  know  all  that  can 
be  learned  from  subaltern  spies;  from  valets,  court- 
iers, secretaries,  and  the  intemperate  tongue  of  Prince 
Henry;  but- there  are  only  two  modes  of  influencing, — 
which  are  to  give,  or  rather  to  give  birth  to,  ideas  in 
the  master,  or  in  his  Ministers.  In  the  master !  How, 
since  he  is  not  to  be  approached?  In  the  Ministers! 
It  is  neither  very  easy  nor  very  prudent  to  speak  to 
them  on  public  affairs,  I  not  being  in  a  public  char- 
acter; and  the  discussions  which  chance  affords  are 
short,  vague,  and  incomplete.  If  I  am  supposed  ca- 
pable of  business,  I  ought  to  be  sent  to  some  place 
where  I  should  have  a  public  character.  I  am  afraid 
I  shall  here  cost  more  than  I  am  worth. 

Count  Goertz  goes  to  Holland ;  I  know  not  whether 


74        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

instead  of  Thulemeyer  or  ad  tcmpns.  He  is  followed 
by  the  son  of  Count  Arnim,  who  is  a  young  shoot  for 
the  corps  diplomatique.  Goertz  is  not  a  man  without 
talents :  when  sent  into  Russia,  under  every  kind  of 
disadvantage,  he  obtained  a  good  knowledge  of  the 
country;  he  is  cold,  dry,  and  ungracious;  but  subtle, 
master  of  his  temper,  though  violent,  and  a  man  of 
observation.  That  he  is  of  the  English  party  is  cer- 
tain; he  is  loyal  to  Hertzberg,  and  convinced  that  the 
alliance  of  Holland  and  France  is  so  unnatural  it  must 
soon  end.  I  own  I  think  as  he  does,  especially  should 
we  abuse  our  power. 

A  new  Ambassador  is  appointed,  in  petto,  for 
France.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  discover  who; 
but  Hertzberg  supports  the  ridiculous  Goltz  with  all 
his  power.  Schulemburg  daily  declines  in  favor.  The 
maritime  company  have  already  lost  their  monopoly 
of  coffee,  of  which  there  are  four  millions  and  a  half 
pounds'  weight  consumed  in  the  various  provinces  of 
the  Prussian  monarchy.  Hence  we  may  observe  that 
the  free  use  of  coffee,  which  daily  becomes  general  in 
Germany,  is  the  cause  that  the  consumption  of  beer 
is  gradually  and  much  less.  The  same  company  may 
be  deprived  of  a  prodigious  profit  on  sugars;  but  it 
will  be  in  vain  to  destroy  old  monopolies  only  to  sub- 
stitute new,  though  they  should  be  for  the  profit  of 
the  King. 

The  personal  debts  of  his  Majesty  are  paying  off  by 
the  Minister,  Blumenthal ;  it  is  said  there  are  tolerably 
great  reductions  made,  but  not  unjustly,  as  I  imagine, 
for  there  are  no  complaints  on  the  subject.  Exclusive 
of  the  Royal  Treasury,  Frederick  II.  has  left  savings 
so  great  that  they  will  scarcely  be  absorbed  by  the 
personal  debts  of  Frederick  William  II.  It  is  said  he 
will  pay  off  his  Italian  opera,  and  everybody  believes 
there  will  be  a  French  opera  instead.  This  certainly 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        75 

would  be  no  trifling  means  of  support  to  intrigue. 

The  freedom  of  scrutiny  is  restored  to  the  Academy, 
and  the  Germans  are  henceforward  to  be  admitted 
members.  I  regard  the  curatorship  of  this  body  as  a 
favor  conferred  on,  and  a  tolerable  resource  of  power 
for,  Hertzberg,  who  will  be  curator  by  title,  and  presi- 
dent in  reality.  The  presidency  of  the  Academy  is  so 
truly  ministerial  that  the  late  Frederick  exercised  it 
himself,  after  the  decease  of  the  restless  and  morose 
de  Maupertuis.  Count  Hertzberg  said  to  me,  at  Court, 
"  You  are  a  compliment  in  my  debt."  "  On  what  occa- 
sion? "  "  I  am  curator  of  the  Academy;  which  title 
gives  me  greater  pleasure  and,  in  my  opinion,  is  more 
honorable  than  a  ribbon."  Forty  persons  heard  our 
discourse.  "  Certainly,"  replied  I,  "  he  who  is  the 
minister  of  knowledge  may  well  be  called  the  Prime 
Minister." 

The  King  will  not  ruin  himself  in  gifts;  he  has 
hitherto  bestowed  only  prebendaries,  which  cost  him 
nothing  except  a  pension  of  three  hundred  crowns, 
on  General  Levald.  I  am  informed  that  he  has  just 
granted  one  of  eight  hundred  crowns — to  the  poet 
Rammler.  It  would  perhaps  have  been  more  delicate  not 
to  have  begun  by  pensioning  fame,  and  her  trumpet. 


LETTER  XIX 

September  2d,  1786. 

ALL  circumstances  confirm  my  predictions.  Prince 
Henry  and  his  nephew  have  almost  quarreled.  The 
uncle  is  inconsolable,  and  thinks  of  retiring  to  Rheins- 
berg.  He  will  almost  certainly  return  during  the 
journey  of  the  King,  through  Prussia  and  Silesia. 
Probably  we  shall  have  no  great  changes  before  the 
Monarch  has  performed  these  journeys,  if  then. 


76        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

There  is  one,  however,  besides  those  I  have  before 
spoken  of,  which  is  remarkable;  and  that  is,  a  com- 
mission to  examine  the  administration  of  the  customs, 
— what  is  to  be  abrogated,  what  preserved,  and  what 
qualified,  especially  in  the  excise. 

M.  Werder,  a  Minister  of  State,  and  the  intimate 
friend  of  Hertzberg,  the  enemy  of  Schulemburg  who 
brought  him  into  place,  and  father-in-law  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  English  Embassy,  or  perhaps  to  his  wife, 
is  at  the  head  of  this  commission.  The  other  members 
are  ridiculously  selected;  but  the  very  project  of  such 
a  reform  is  most  agreeable  to  the  nation;  as  much  so 
as  the  pension  of  eight  hundred  crowns  granted  to 
the  poet  Rammler,  and  the  promise  of  admission  of 
Germans  into  the  Academy,  is  to  the  distributors  of 
renown.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  people  have 
not  been  led  to  hope  too  much;  and  whether  it  is  not 
requisite  to  be  certain  of  substitutes,  previous  to  the 
promise  of  relief. 

The  King  goes  to  Prussia  attended  by  Messieurs 
Hertzberg  (for  the  King  to  be  attended  by  a  Minister 
out  of  his  department  is  unexampled),  Goltz,  sur- 
named  the  Tartar,  Boulet,  a  French  engineer,  General 
Goertz,  Gaudi,  and  Bishops werder. 

This  Goltz  the  Tartar  is  he  who,  in  the  last  cam- 
paign of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  raised  an  insurrection 
of  fifty  thousand  Tartars,  in  the  Crimea  and  the 
neighboring  countries;  who  were  marching  to  make  a 
diversion  in  favor  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  had 
arrived  at  Bender,  when  peace  was  concluded.  Not- 
withstanding this,  Goltz  can  boast  of  but  little  abilities ; 
except  that  he  is  a  good  officer,  and  ardently  active. 
He  was  indebted  for  his  great  and  singular  success 
to  a  Dutchman  named  Biskamp,  whom  he  met  with 
in  the  Crimea.  He  attached  himself  to  this  very 
able  and  enterprising  man,  who  understood  the 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        77 

language,  knew  the  country,  and  served  Frederick 
II.  according  to  his  wishes;  by  whom,  indeed,  he  was 
well  paid.  This  Biskamp  is  at  Warsaw,  and  there 
forgotten,  which  is  very  strange.  I  have  supposed  the 
relating  this  anecdote,  which  is  but  little  known,  might 
be  interesting. 

Boulet  is  an  honest  man,  for  whom  the  King  shows 
some  affection,  and  to  whom  he  is  indebted  for  all  he 
knows  concerning  fortification. 

General  Goertz  is  the  brother  of  the  Goertz  who  is 
going  to  Holland,  but  not  his  equal;  he  is  artful  and 
subtle,  and  his  good  faith  is  of  a  suspicious  complexion. 

Gaudi  is  the  brother  of  the  celebrated  general  of  the 
same  name;  little  known  hitherto  as  the  Minister  of 
the  Prussian  department,  but  capable,  well-informed, 
firm,  decided,  and  indubitably  the  man  most  proper  to 
influence  interior  arrangements  in  reconstructing  the 
grand  directory. 

Bishopswerder  you  are  acquainted  with;  he  and 
Boulet  each  lately  received  the  commission  of  lieuten- 
ant colonel. 

The  King  has  told  Schulemburg  that,  on  his  return 
from  Prussia,  he  will  determine  which  of  his  nine  de- 
partments he  shall  be  deprived  of.  He  and  his  wife 
are  the  only  ministerial  family  who  are  not  invited  to 
Court.  The  probabilities  all  are  that  Schulemburg 
will  demand  leave  to  resign,  should  his  colleagues  con- 
tinue to  humble  him,  and  the  King  to  treat  him  with 
contempt.  But  Struensee  probably  will  keep  his  place, 
and  he  then  proposes  to  act,  in  concert  with  us,  in  our 
public  funds;  especially  should  the  King,  as  is  ap- 
parent, commit  to  his  charge  the  four  millions  of 
crowns  which  he  means  to  set  apart  for  the  operations 
of  previous  finance.  Struensee  is  the  only  man  who 
understands  them.  This  is  a  subject  not  to  be 
neglected,  as  it  hitherto  has  been,  even  so  far  as  to 


78        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

render  it  impossible  for  me  to  act  with  propriety. 
We  might  profit  by  him,  during  peace;  but  if  unfor- 
tunately the  news  which  is  whispered  be  true,  con- 
cerning the  increasing  ill  health  of  the  Elector  of 
Bavaria,  depend  upon  war,  for  I  then  hold  it  inevitable. 
Is  this  a  time  for  us  to  exist  from  day  to  day,  as  we 
do,  when  each  month  (for  there  is  a  probability,  at 
any  time,  that  he  should  die  within  a  month)  menaces 
all  Europe  with  inextricable  confusion? 

M.  de  Larrey,  sent  from  the  Stadtholder  to  com- 
pliment the  King,  openly  affirms  it  is  impossible  the 
disputes  of  Holland  should  be  appeased  without  effu- 
sion of  blood;  and  the  speculations  of  Hertzberg  upon 
this  subject  are  boundless;  but  the  secret  is  well  kept 
by  those  who  surround  the  King. 


LETTER  XX 

TO  THE  DUG  DE 


September  2d,  1786. 

BY  what  fatality,  monseigneur,  has  it  happened  that 
I  have  not  received  your  letter,  dated  the  sixteenth, 
till  this  day?  And,  still  more  especially,  why  was  it 
not  written  some  weeks  sooner?  The  importance  of 
the  proposition  with  which  it  concludes  will  never 
be  fully  understood;  and  which,  made  at  any  other 
time,  except  when  the  King  was  dying,  would  have 
been  willingly  accepted.  It  will  never  be  known,  had 
it  been  presented  soon  enough,  how  much  it  might 
have  effected,  impeded,  and  indicated,  relative  to  a 
Prince  whose  understanding  perhaps  is  not  great,  but 
who  possesses  gratitude,  and  who  will  much  more 
certainly  be  an  honest  man  than  a  great  King;  so 
that  his  heart  rather  than  his  mind  ought  to  have  been 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        79 

appealed  to;  and  that  at  a  time  when  he  was  far 
otherwise  accessible  than  at  present, — walled  in,  as  he 
is,  by  system  and  intrigue.  How  does  it  happen  that 
you  are  the  only  person  of  the  country  you  inhabit 
who  conceived  this  plan?  How  could  the  Cabinet  of 
Versailles  give  up  the  merit  of  offering  trifling  sums 
to  Serilly  ?  How  could  it  permit  the  Duke  of  Courland 
to  secure  the  claim  of  having  hushed  the  loud  cries  of 
creditors  to  silence?  How  impolitic  and  disastrous 
are  the  sordid  views,  the  confined  plans,  and  short- 
sighted prudence  of  certain  persons!  In  what  a  situa- 
tion would  such  an  act  have  placed  us,  as  it  would  me 
personally,  in  his  opinion!  All  things  then  would 
have  been  possible,  would  have  been  easy  to  me.  But 
of  this  we  must  think  no  more ;  we  must  only  remem- 
ber this  is  a  new  proof  that  reason  is  always  on  your 
side. 

Since  the  death  of  the  King  I  have  sent  supplies  of 
information  to  your  Cabinet,  respecting  the  Aiilic 
phases,  and  my  dispatch  of  to-day,  a  great  part  of 
which  no  doubt  our  common  friend  will  read  to  you, 
is  a  statement,  according  to  the  best  of  my  abilities,  of 
present  and  future  contingencies.  You  will  there  per- 
ceive that  Prince  Henry  has  accomplished  his  own 
destiny ;  that  his  trifling  character  has,  on  this  occasion, 
weighty  as  it  was,  been  stranded  on  the  rock  of  his 
excessive  vanity,  as  it  has  before  so  often  been;  that 
he  has  at  once  displayed  an  excessive  desire  of  power, 
disgusting  haughtiness,  insupportable  pedantry,  and  a 
disdain  of  intrigue,  at  the  same  time  that  his  conduct 
was  one  continuation  of  petty,  low,  dirty  cabal;  that 
he  has  despised  the  people  in  power,  while  he  him- 
self is  surrounded  only  by  those  who  are  evidently 
either  foolish,  knavish,  or  contemptible, — one  sole 
man,  Baron  Knyphausen,  excepted,  and  he  is  in  daily 
danger  of  being  carried  off  by  apoplexy;  that,  in  fine, 


8o        MEMOIRS   QF   THE   COURTS   OF 

no  man  can  be  more  out  of  favor,  and  particularly  out 
of  confidence,  or  can  have  put  himself  into  a  situation 
in  which  confidence  and  favor  will  be  more  difficult 
to  regain. 

I  therefore  persist  in  my  opinion  that  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  who  is  master  of  himself,  by  no  means 
ostentatious,  and  who  is  possessed  of  profound  talents, 
will  be  the  man, — not  of  the  present  moment,  but  of 
the  moment  of  necessity.  My  reasons  are  numerous, 
and  so  deduced  as,  in  my  opinion,  not  to  admit  of 
contradiction,  the  order  of  events  and  circumstances 
which  I  see  and  foresee  considered.  All  this  does  but 
render  the  execution  of  your  project  the  more  neces- 
sary, and  which  I  regard  as  very  practicable,  with 
some  small  exceptions,  if  executed  by  the  persons  in 
whom  you  ought  to  confide, — should  you,  with  your 
natural  dexterity,  and  irresistible  seduction,  pursue 
the  plan  of  interesting  the  vanity  of  the  MASTER,  so  as 
to  make  it  his  own  act,  and,  as  you  have  so  well  ex- 
pressed it,  that  it  shall  be  he  himself  who  shall  inform 
his  Ministers  of  his  intentions. 

I  repeat,  your  project  is  the  more  immediately  neces- 
sary because  that  England  cabals,  with  great  industry, 
in  her  own  behalf,  under  the  pretense  of  the  interests 
of  Holland,  which  are  very  much  at  heart,  in  the 
Cabinet  of  Berlin.  I  own  that  what  I  have  often 
insinuated  here,  flamely,  that  the  Prussian  power  is 
not  sufficiently  consolidated,  and  that,  if  opposed  to 
stand  the  shock  of  France  and  Austria  combined,  it 
must  be  reduced  to  powder,  is  a  proposition  not  so 
unanswerable  but  that,  thanks  to  Russia,  there  are 
many  objections  to  be  made;  and  so  there  always  will 
be,  even  in  suppositions  the  most  unfavorable  to 
Prussia. 

i.  Because  this  would  but  be  commencing  a  deplora- 
ble career  of  sanguinary  contentions,  under  the  direc- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG        81, 

tion  of  the  Emperor,  who  is  so  little  able  to  direct  that 
he  may  be  affirmed  to  be  the  least  military  of  men. 

2.  That  the  utmost  success  would  leave  a  Prince 
without  counterpoise  in  Europe,  who  has  claims  and 
pretensions  of  every  kind. 

Lastly,  and  more  especially,  this  would  be  painfully 
to  seek  that  which  the  nature  of  events  spontaneously 
offers;  like  as  spring  makes  the  apparently  dry  and 
sapless  tree  bud  and  bloom. 

There  are  some  errors  in  ciphering,  which  are  the 
cause  that  I  do  not  perfectly  understand  the  grounds 
of  your  dissension  with  me,  concerning  the  maritime 
system;  but  I  too  well  know  the  extreme  justness  of 
your  mind,  which  does  not  remain  satisfied  with  phan- 
toms, to  imagine  our  opinions  are  very  opposite.  And, 
for  my  own  part,  I  have  never  pretended  to  say  that 
we  ought  not  to  maintain  a  navy  which  should  make 
our  commerce  respected.  The  question  to  determine 
is,  What  ought  the  extent  of  this  commerce  to  be,, 
which  is  to  be  effectually  protected?  You,  like  me, 
perceive  that  no  alliance  with  England  can  be  solidly 
established  but  by  a  commercial  treaty,  which  should 
have  exact,  clear,  and  distinct  lines  of  demarcation; 
for,  were  unlimited  freedom  of  trade  permitted,  they 
would  be  the 'sufferers.  How  might  they  support  the 
rival-ship?  And,  if  we  do  not  cut  away  the  voracious 
suckers  from  the  root  of  the  tree,  how  shall  we  pre- 
vent the  Indies  and  Antilles  from  eternally  continuing 
the  apple  of  discord? 

Be  this  as  it  may,  monseigneur,  do  not  suffer  your- 
self to  be  discouraged  or  disgusted  by  difficulties. 
Ascend  the  height  with  a  firm  though  measured  step, 
and  with  inflexible  constancy.  You  have  found  the 
only  unbeaten  track  which,  in  these  times,  can  lead  to 
political  fame,  and  which  best  may  te"nd  to  the  pacifica- 
tion of  the  earth.  How  admirable  is  it  to  unite  the 


82        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

talents  of  the  hero,  the  principles  of  the  sage,  and  the 
projects  of  the  philosopher!  By  a  single  diplomatic 
act  to  reverse  all  the  obsolete  forms,  all  pitiable  rubrics, 
all  the  destructive  arts  of  modern  politics,  would  be  to 
gain  no  vulgar  crown;  and  a  prospect  so  magnificent 
must  be  a  most  powerful  support  to  your  fortitude. 

I  need  not  repeat  how  much  I  am  devoted  to  you,  or 
how  entirely  you  may  dispose  of  me. 


LETTER  XXI 

September  5th,  1786. 

IT  is  impossible  that  I  should  send  you  intelligence 
more  exact,  concerning  the  situation  of  Prince  Henry 
with  the  King,  than  that  which  my  preceding  letters 
contain.  The  Prince  himself  no  longer  conceals  the 
truth,  and,  like  all  weak  men,  passing  from  one  ex- 
treme to  the  other,  he  clamorously  affirms  the  country 
is  undone,  that  priests,  blockheads,  prostitutes,  and 
Englishmen  are  hastening  its  destruction;  and,  by  the 
intemperance  of  his  language,  confirms  what  the  in- 
discretion of  Chevalier  d'Oraison,  and  the  personal 
confidence  of  the  uncle  to  the  nephew,  when  he  was 
only  Prince  of  Prussia,  probably  before  but  too  cer- 
tainly told  Frederick  William  II.  I  repeat,  he  has 
completed  his  disgrace,  in  the  private  estimation  of  the 
King.  It  is  my  opinion  that,  if  he  may  be  permitted, 
he  will  either  quit  this  country,  in  which  he  has  not 
one  friend,  one  parasite,  except  in  the  most  subaltern 
and  abject  class,  or  will  become  insane,  or  will  die; 
such  is  my  augury. 

Not  that  I  am  convinced  that  the  administration 
must  always  be  committed  to  subalterns.  The  King 
has  too  much  dread  of  seeming  to  be  governed  not  to 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        83 

have  the  necessity  of  being  g9verned.  Why  should 
he  be  the  first  man  who  should  pretend  to  be  what 
he  is  not?  Frederick  II.  who  by  nature  was  so  per- 
fectly designed  to  govern,  never  testified  a  fear  of 
being  governed;  he  was  certain  of  the  contrary.  The 
present  King  fears  he  shall,  and  therefore  shall  be. 
While  public  affairs  are  transacted  separately,  he  will 
not  seem  to  be;  for  nothing  is  more  easy  in  this 
country  than  to  receive  and  to  pay.  The  machinery  is 
so  wound  up  that  the  surplus  of  revenue  is  great  in- 
deed. It  is  easy  to  pay  some  attention  to  detail,  to 
keep  watch  over  the  police,  to  make  some  subordinate 
changes,  and  to  coquette  with  the  nation.  And  here 
be  it  said,  by  the  way,  there  seems  a  determination  of 
humbling  the  vanity  of  foreigners;  so  that,  as  I  have 
always  affirmed,  the  gallomania  of  Prince  Henry  has 
been  very  prejudicial  to  us.  Some  good  will  be  done; 
for  it  is  not  here  as  in  other  kingdoms,  where  the  pass- 
ing from  evil  to  good  is  sometimes  worse  than  the 
evil  itself,  and  where  there  is  terror  in  resistance.  All 
is  here  done  ad  nut um.  Besides,  the  cords  are  so 
stretched  they  cannot  but  relax;  the  people  have  been 
so  oppressed,  have  suffered  such  vexation,  such  ex- 
tortion, that  they  must  find  ease.  All  will  proceed, 
therefore,  and  almost  without  aid,  while  foreign  poli- 
tics shall  continue  calm  and  uniform;  but,  whenever 
a  gun  is  fired,  or  even  at  the  first  lowering  storm,  with 
what  a  petty  crash  will  this  scaffolding  of  mediocrity 
come  to  the  ground !  How  will  these  subaltern  Minis- 
ters shrink,  from  the  slave  at  the  oar  to  the  terrified 
steersman?  How  will  they  call  for  a  pilot's  aid? 

Who  must  be  this  pilot?  The  Duke  of  Brunswick. 
Of  this  I  have  no  doubt.  Every  little  accident,  in  the 
day  of  trouble,  is  only  an  additional  aptitude  to  fear. 
Besides  that,  the  Prince  is,  of  all  men,  he  who  best  can 
conduct  little  vanity;  he  will  satisfy  himself  with  ap- 


84        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

pearing  the  servant  of  servants;  the  most  polite,  the 
most  humble  and  indubitably  the  most  adroit  of  cour- 
tiers ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  his  iron  hand  will  fetter 
all  paltry  views,  all  trifling  intrigues,  all  inferior  fac- 
tions. Such  is  the  horoscope  I  draw ;  nor  do  I  think,  at 
present,  one  more  rational  can  be  erected. 

Hertzberg  is  the  man  Who  must  be  managed  in  the 
State;  and  for  this  Cornte  d'Esterno  is  not  qualified, 
because  he  formerly  deserted  him  too  much;  and  he 
well  perceived  it  would  have  beeh  indelicate  and  stupid 
to  have  veered  too  suddenly.  Hertzberg,  however, 
may  ruin  himself  by  his  boasting,  and  even  by  his 
ostentation.  This  is  a  mode  of  effecting  the  fall  of 
Ministers  which  the  courtiers  will  not  fail  to  employ 
because  of  the  character  of  the  King,  and  which  may 
succeed. 

But  Holland  and  her  convulsions  are  the  subject  of 
present  consideration.  There  is  a  conviction  that  we 
can  do  wrhat  we  please;  and,  though  I  am  far  from 
thinking  this  to  be  incontrovertible,  I  still  think  that, 
were  we  to  say  to  the  party  that  has  gained  so  much 
ground,  probably  from  a  conviction  that  we  were 
ready  to  march  up  to  their  support  (for  how  would 
they  have  dared  to  make  themselves  responsible  if 
they  had  possessed  no  securities  for  such  future  con- 
tingencies as  may  be  expected?).  I  repeat,  were  we 
to  say,  YOU  MUST  GO  NO  FURTHER,  \ve  should  be 
obeyed.  It  will  be  supposed,  I  neither  pretend  nor 
wish  to  give  advice.  I  am  too  far  removed  from 
truth,  which  I  can  only  inspect  through  the  magnify- 
ing glass  of  passion;  and  the  Comte  d'Esterno  informs 
me  of  nothing;  but  I  can  distinctly  perceive  that  that 
hurricane,  which  is  forming  in  those  marshes,  may 
extend  to  other  countries.  The  French  Embassy  of 
Berlin  will  not  say  thus  much  to  you,  because  they  do 
not  see  things  in  the  same  light,  but  are  persuaded 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        85 

that  the  interest  of  the  brother  will  have  no  influence 
on  the  connections  of  the  King.  Of  this  I  doubt,  and 
have  good  reason  so  to  doubt.  Hertzberg  is  wholly 
Dutch,  for  it  is  the  only  decent  manner  in  which  he 
can  be  English;  and  he  may  greatly  influence  foreign 
politics,  although  he  does  not  understand  them.  As, 
the  other  day,  he  was  rehearsing  his  eternal  repetition 
of — THE  KING  WILL  BE  THE  PLEDGE  OF  THE  STADT- 
HOLDER — I  said  to  him,  "I  respect  the  King  too 
much  to  ask  who  shall  be  the  pledge  of  the  pledge; 
but  I  dare  venture  to  ask — How  WILL  THE  KING 
MAKE  HIS  PLEDGE  RESPECTED?  What  shall  happen 
when  France  shall  demonstrate  that  the  Stadtholder 
has  broken  engagements  entered  into  under  her  sanc- 
tion ?  The  King  is  not  the  brother-in-law  of  Holland ; 
and  the  affair  of  Naples  is  sufficient  proof  that  family 
interventions  may  be  eluded  ?  What  can  the  King  ac- 
complish against'  Holland?  And  is  he  not  too  equi- 
table to  require  us,  who  cannot  wish  that  the  Dutch 
should  become  English,  to  risk  our  alliance  for  the 
knight-errant  of  the  English?"  To  all  this  Hertz- 
berg,  who  beholds  nothing  on  this  sublunary  earth 
but  HERTZBERG  and  PRUSSIA,  made  vague  replies;  but, 
at  the  words,  "What  can  the  King  accomplish  against 
Holland?"  he  muttered,  with  a  gloomy  air,  "HOL- 
LAND WILL  NOT  DEFY  HIM,  I  BELIEVE."  OttCC  again, 

beware  of  Holland;  where,  by  way  of  parenthesis  the 
English  legation  affirms  that  Xve  have  bought  the  town 
of  Schiedam;  that  M.  de  Calonne,  in  particular,  inun- 
dates the  country  with  gold ;  and,  in  a  word,  that  he 
is  personally  the  brand  of  discord. 

I  have  reserved  the  questions  with  which  your  letter 
begins,  to  conclude  with;  first,  because  they  relate  to 
affairs  the  least  pressing,  since  it  appears  impossible 
that  the  Emperor  should  make  any  attempts  on  Turkey 
in  Europe  before  the  coming  spring;  and  next,  it  was 


86        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

necessary  I  should  previously  recollect  myself;  the 
concurring  circumstances  of  the  death  of  the  King, 
and  the  accession  of  Frederick  William,  being  the  sub- 
jects which  have  almost  exclusively  demanded  my  at- 
tention, and  induced  me  to  defer  more  distant  objects 
to  future  consideration.  Still,  I  fear  mine  is  a  barren 
harvest,  Prussia  not  having  any  continued  intercourse 
with  these  wide  lying  countries,  which  are  more  than 
four  hundred  leagues  distant;  for  she  has  neither  any 
great  merchant,  nor  any  system  of  politics,  because 
the  corps  diplomatique  of  Prussia  is  extremely  defi- 
cient. 

As  to  those  individuals  that  are  met  with  in  society, 
they  are  ignorant,  and  can  afford  no  information. 
Buckholz,  the  Prussian  envoy  to  Warsaw,  a  man  of 
ordinary  capacity,  but  active,  and  Huttel,  who  is  in 
the  same  capacity  at  Petersburg,  an  intelligent  person, 
write  word  that  Russia  is  more  pacific  than  Turkey, 
and  that  the  internal  Ottoman  provinces  call  for  war. 
The  frontier  provinces,  appertaining  to  the  Tartars, 
certainly  are  not  friendly  to  Russia.  Moldavia  and 
Wallachia  are  governed  by  Hospodars,  who,  being 
Greeks,  most  certainly  are  sold  to  whoever  will  pur- 
chase them,  consequently  to  Russia.  The  Emperor 
deceives  them,  and  is  hated  there,  as  elsewhere.  I 
shall  speak  further  of  this,  and  shall  endeavor  to  give 
a  sketch  of  a  journey  along  the  frontiers  of  these 
countries,  which  should  be  undertaken  in  the  disguise 
of  a  trader,  and  kept  rigidly  secret,  by  which  the  state 
of  the  frontiers,  the  magazines,  the  propensities  of  the 
people,  etc.,  etc.,  might  be  known,  and  what  is  to  be 
hoped  or  feared,  if  it  be  found  necessary  to  arm  (in 
which  case  it  is  very  probable  Prussia  would  volun- 
tarily aid  us  with  all  her  powers), — that  is  to  say  if 
the  Emperor  should  determine  to  pay  no  respect  to  our 
remonstrances,  as  he  has  twice  done  before. 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG         87 

Perhaps  I  might  be  more  useful  employed  in  such 
a  journey  than  at  Berlin,  where  at  every  step  I  tread 
on  danger,  and  shall  so  continue  to  do,  unless  I  have 
credentials,  at  least  as  an  assistant;  which  perhaps 
would  be  the  more  proper,  because  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  such  an  interlocutor  is  spoken  to  with  greater 
freedom  than  an  Ambassador;  for  the  refusals  he 
meets,  or  the  proposals  he  makes,  have  no  ministerial 
consequences;  and  thus  each  party  gains  information, 
without  either  being  offended. 

Pay  serious  attention  to  this,  I  request.  In  vain 
you  recommend  me  to  act  privately;  permit  me  to  in- 
form you  that,  in  despite  of  all  my  efforts,  this  is  im- 
practicable. I  have  too  much  celebrity,  too  much 
intercourse  with  Prince  Henry,  who  is  a  true  Joan  of 
Arc,  and  who  has  no  secrets  of  any  kind.  I  am  made 
to  speak  when  I  am  silent;  and -when  I  say  anything  it 
is  unfaithfully  repeated.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive 
all  that  has  been  attributed  to  me  since  the  King's 
death ;  that  is  to  say,  since  an  epoch  when  I  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  interruption  of  social  meetings  to 
keep  myself  recluse,  and  to  labor  only  by  mining. 
Comte  d'Esterno  discredits  me  all  in  his  power.  The 
English  Embassy  exclaims :  "Fccnuin  habet  in  cornu, 
longe  fuge."  The  favorites  keep  me  at  a  distance ;  the 
wits,  the  priests,  and  the  mystics  have  formed  a  league, 
etc.,  etc.  Each  fears  an  invasion  of  his  domains,  be- 
cause my  real  business  is  not  known.  I  cannot  remain 
and  be  of  any  utility,  unless  you  shall  find  means  to 
inform  Count  Finckenstein  that  I  am  only  a  good 
citizen  and  a  good  observer;  but  that  these  I  am,  and 
that  I  am  authorized  to  give  my  opinion.  I  cannot 
doubt  but  that  this  Minister  is  very  desirous  these 
few  words  should  be  said.  I  am,  however,  in  con- 
science obliged  to  repeat,  the  part  I  have  to  play  daily 
becomes  more  difficult  and  more  invidious ;  and  that,  in 


88        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

order  to  be  truly  useful,  I  must  have  some  character 
given  me,  or  be  employed  elsewhere. 

Prince  Henry  at  present  reads  his  recantation;  he 
again  pretends  Hertzberg  has  received  his  deathblow, 
and  that  his  downfall  will  be  instantaneous.  He  re- 
lates miracles  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  and  flatters 
himself  that  he  shall,  soon  or  late,  have  great  influence 
— "He  will  be  in  no  haste.  He  will  ply  to  windward 
six  months."  He  affirms  the  English  projects  are 
absolutely  abortive.  Hertzberg,  he  is  confident,  acts 
as  if  he  had  lost  all  understanding,  and  precisely  as  if 
he,  Prince  Henry,  had  counseled  him,  in  order  to 
render  his  fall  more  headlong,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  In  fine, 
his  discourse  is  a  mixture  of  enthusiasm  and  rodomon- 
tade, of  presumption  and  anxiety ;  a  flux  of  words  that 
confirm  nothing;  or  of  half  phrases  without  any  de- 
terminate meaning,  except  of  exaggeration  and  tumor. 
Hence,  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture  whether  he  deceives 
himself  or  wishes  to  deceive;  whether  he  maintains 
the  cause  of  vanity,  feasts  on  illusion,  or  if  he  has 
recently  any  ray  of  hope;  for,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  not 
impossible  but  that  Hertzberg,  by  his  boasting,  should 
effect  his  own  ruin.  Prince  Henry  presses  me  to  re- 
quest the  Court  to  send  me  some  credentials,  while  the 
King  shall  be  in  Prussia  and  Silesia;  or,  at  least,  to 
write  concerning  me  to  Count  Finckenstein,  by  whom 
the  intelligence  may  be  communicated  to  the  King. 

No  change  in  the  new  habits  of  the  Monarch.  Ma- 
dame Rietz  has  been  but  once  to  see  him;  but,  on 
Saturday  last,  he  wrote  to  his  natural  son  by  that 
woman,  and  directed  his  letter:  "To  my  son  Alexan- 
der, Count  de  la  Marche."  He  has  ennobled,  and  even 
made  a  Baroness  of  the  mistress  of  the  Margrave  of 
Schwedt  (Baroness  of  Stoltzenberg,  which  is  the  title 
of  a  Barony,  w.orth  about  eight  thousand  crowns  a 
year,  given  her  by  the  Margrave),  who  is  nothing 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        89 

more  than  a  tolerably  pretty  German  girl,  formerly  an 
actress,  by  whom  the  Margrave  has  a  son.  It  was  not 
thought  proper  to  refuse  the  only  thing  this  old  Prince 
of  seventy-seven  wished  or  could  request.  Perhaps, 
too,  it  was  a  pretext  to  do  as  much  for  Madame  Rietz. 
The  husband  of  this  lady  is  erzkaemmcrcr,  a  place 
nearly  corresponding  to  that  of  first  valet  de  chambre, 
and  treasurer  of  the  privy  purse;  but  it  is  supposed  he 
will  do  nothing  more  than  get  rich;  his  wife  hitherto 
has  never  had  any  serious  influence. 

The  Court  Marshal,  Ritwitz,  having  suddenly  be- 
come raving  mad,  after  a  quarrel  with  one  of  the  pro- 
vision officers,  Marwitz,  who  is  a  totally  insignificant 
person,  has  been  proposed  to  the  King.  "He  will  do 
as  well  as  another,"  replied  the  Monarch.  Is  this 
thoughtlessness,  or  is  it  fear  of  importance  being  an- 
nexed to  a  place  which  in  reality  but  little  merits  im- 
portance ?  This  question  it  is  impossible  to  answer. 

Lucchesini  increases  in  his  pretensions ;  he  demands 
a  place  in  the  finance  or  commercial  department;  per- 
haps the  direction  of  the  maritime  company,  but  this 
would  be  a  very  lofty  stride.  Annexed  to  wit  and  in- 
formation, he  has  some  qualities  to  which  ambition  is 
seldom  allied ;  at  most  they  will  entitle  him  to  become  a 
member  of  the  corps  diplomatique,  of  which  he  is  capa- 
ble. I  believe  this  Italian  to  be  one  of  the  most  ardent 
in  keeping  me  at  a  distance  from  the  King,  who  will 
not  indeed  be  easy  of  access  befo're  the  winter. 

The  commission  of  regulations  has  hitherto  rather 
appeared  a  caustic  than  a  healing  and  paternal  remedy. 
There  is  much  more  talk  of  the  sums  the  employment 
of  which  cannot  be  justified  than  of  easing  the  excise. 
Verder,  the  president,  is  besides  known  to  be  the  per- 
sonal enemy  of  some  of  the  members  of  the  tax 
administration.  This,  perhaps,  has  occasioned  sus- 
picions. Verder,  however,  was  proposed  by  the  Duke 


90        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

of  Brunswick,  who,  in  fact,  had  need  of  his  aid  in 
some  affairs  that  relate  to  his  country. 

Hertzberg  has  certainly  been  in  a  storm,  and  the 
credit  of  Count  Finckenstein  appears  to  be  augmented, 
though  I  confess  the  shade  of  increasing  favor  is 
scarcely  perceptible.  I  persist  in  believing  that  Hertz- 
berg  is  immovable,  unless  by  his  want  of  address. 


LETTER  XXII 

September  8th,  1786. 

THE  sixth,  at  a  review  of  the  artillery,  I  dismounted 
my  horse  to  attend  the  King,  in  the  front  of  the  ranks. 
The  Duke  of  Brunswick  joined  me;  and,  as  we  talked 
of  mortars,  bombs,  and  batteries,  we  gradually  re- 
moved to  a  distance.  As  soon  as  we  wer^  alone,  he 
began  to  speak  to  me  of  the  prodigious  knowledge  I 
had  of  the  country;  giving  me  to  understand  he  had 
read  my  memorial  to  the  King.  He  then  reverted  to 
the  new  reign,  and  suddenly  afterward  to  foreign 
politics.  Having  entered  at  length  into  the  subject, 
and  spoken  more  than  is  necessary  here  to  repeat,  he 
added,  "In  God's  name,  arrange  affairs  in  Holland; 
free  the  King  of  his  fears.  Must  the  Stadtholder 
never  be  other  than  ad  honorcs?  You  are  in  full 
credit  there,  and  this  credit  you  cannot  lose;  if  you 
did,  the  party  by  which  you  obtained  it  would  be  too 
much  exposed  to  danger.  I  repeat,  put  us  at  our  ease, 
and  I  will  answer  on  my  head  for  everything  else; 
but  use  dispatch,  I  conjure  you.  On  Sunday  I  shall 
depart  for  Brunswick;  come  and  visit  me,  while  the 
King  is  gone  to  Silesia;  we  can  converse  freely  there, 
and  nowhere  else.  But  write  to  your  friends  that  they 
ought  to  exert  all  their  influence  to  engage  the  French 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        91 

Ministry  to  use  moderation  with  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
who  cannot  be  proscribed  without  State  convulsions. 
Things  are  not  ripe  for  his  abolishment;  give  him 
protection.  France  cannot  render  a  greater  service 
to  Europe.  What,  is  your  Court  yet  to  learn  those 
forms  which  effect  no  change,  but  which  give  every 
support?"  Here  we  separated,  because  the  subject 
began  to  be  too  interesting.  But  tell  me — ought  I  not 
to  go  to  Brunswick  ? 

To  this  I  should  add  that  Count  Goertz  has  taken 
eight  chasseurs  with  him,  who  are  to  convey  letters  to 
the  frontiers  of  the  Prussian  States,  in  order  that  no 
dispatches  may  be  sent  by  land  nor  pass  through 
foreign  hands.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick  has  repeated 
what  Prince  Henry  had  told  me,  and  which  I  forgot 
to  inform  you  of,  that  one  of  the  principal  motives  for 
selecting  Count  Goertz  was  his  former  friendship  with 
M.  de  Veyrac. 

From  my  conversation  with  the  Duke,  I  conclude 
that  he  is  or  soon  will  be  master  of  affairs;  and  this 
explains  the  new  fit  of  joy,  hope,  and  presumption 
which  has  seized  on  Prince  Henry,  who  has  been  per- 
suaded by  the  cunning  Duke  that,  if  he  will  but  have 
patience,  the  scepter  will  devolve  on  him ;  and  that  he, 
the  Duke,  will  be  no  more  than  high  constable.  It  is 
said  Koenigsberg  will  be  appointed  Field  Marshal. 
This,  added  to  the  smooth  turn  which  the  Duke  has 
given  discussions  and  pecuniary  matters,  has  turned 
the  Prince's  brain,  who  told  me  the  other  day  that 
"  the  Duke  was  the  most  loyal  of  men,  and  his  best 
friend;  that  he  owned  a  fortnight  ago  he  was  of  a  dif- 
ferent opinion ;  but  that,"  etc.  So  that  the  metamor- 
phosis has  been  produced  within  this  fortnight.  In 
truth,  there  is  no  real  difference  between  a  fool  and  a 
man  of  understanding  who  thus  can  suffer  himself  to 
be  deceived ;  as  little  is  there  between  a  fool  and  a  man 


92        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

of  understanding  who  can  be  persuaded  that  a  fool  is 
a  man  t)f  understanding.  Both  these  things  daily 
happen  to  Prince  Henry.  On  the  thirteenth  he  de- 
parts for  Rheinsberg  and  is  to  return  the  day  before 
the  King. 

The  fervor  of  the  novice  appears  somewhat  to  abate. 
I  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  Mademoiselle  Voss 
is  ready  to  capitulate, — ogling,  frequent  conversations 
(for  the  present  assiduity  at  Schoenhausen  is  not  paid 
to  the  Queen  Dowager),  presents  accepted  (a  canon* 
icate  for  her  brother),  and  an  attempt  at  influence. 
(It  is  she  who  placed  Mademoiselle  Vierey  in  the 
service  of  the  Princess  Frederica  of  Prussia.)  To 
ask  is  to  grant.  Since  the  accession  all  circumstances 
denote  how  dazzling  is  the  luster  of  a  diadem ;  but  so 
much  the  better,  for  her  fall  only  can  render  her  but 
little  dangerous.  She  is  wholly  English,  and  is  not 
incapable  of  intrigue.  When  we  reflect  that  the  credit 
of  a  Madame  du  Troussel  had  the  power,  under  a 
Frederick  II.,  to  bestow  places  of  importance,  we  may 
imagine  what  may  happen  under  another  King,  as  soon 
as  it  shall  be  discovered  that  intrigue  may  be  employed 
at  the  Court  of  Berlin,  as  well  as  at  other  Courts. 

Madame  Rietz  yesterday  received  a  diamond  worth 
four  thousand  crowns ;  she  will  probably  be  put  on  the 
invalid  list,  with  some  money,  and  perhaps  a  title. 

Her  son,  at  present,  has  publicly  the  title  of  Count 
de  la  Marche  (or  Count  Brandenburg),  and  has  a 
separate  establishment. 

General  Kalckstein,  disgraced  by  the  late  King,  and 
regretted  by  everybody,  has  received  a  regiment. 

At  present,  and  till  I  hear  other  news  relative  to 
Berlin,  accept  the  following  important  anecdote,  which 
I  think  it  necessary  to  send  in  the  now  doubtful  state 
of  the  health  of  the  Empress  of  Russia:  About  six 
years  ago,  a  young  foreigner,  and  a  gentleman,  in  the 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        93 

service  of  France,  was  presented  to  the  Grand  Duchess, 
by  a  lady  who  had  been  educated  with  her,  and  who 
has  remained  her  intimate  friend.  It  was  the  inten- 
tion of  this  young  gentleman  to  enter  into  the  Rus- 
sian service.  He  was  presented  to  the  Grand  Duke  by 
the  Grand  Duchess,  who  warmly  solicited,  and  while 
he  was  present,  a  place  for  the  youth  in  the  service  of 
her  husband. 

The  young  favorite,  well-formed  and  handsome, 
often  visited  the  Grand  Duchess.  Invited  to  her  pal- 
ace, feasted,  distinguished,  and  continually  receiving 
new  favors,  he  fell  in  love;  of  which  the  Grand 
Duchess  was  informed  by  his  extreme  confusion.  One 
grand  Court  day,  at  a  masked  ball,  in  the  evening, 
she  had  him  conducted  by  one  of  her  women  into  an 
obscure  apartment,  and  sufficiently  distant  from  those 
where  the  Court  was  held.  In  a  little  time  the  con« 
ductress  quitted  him,  and  advised  him  to  wait,  and 
the  Grand  Duchess  arrived  in  a  black  domino.  She 
removed  her  mask,  took  the  youth  by  the  hand,  led 
him  to  a  sofa,  and  made  him  sit  down  by  her  side. 
The  Grand  Duchess  then  told  him  this  was  the  mo- 
ment for  him  to  choose  between  the  service  of  France 
and  the  service  of  Russia.  A  certain  time,  however, 
was  allowed  him  to  come  to  a  decision.  Coquetry 
and  even  caresses  succeeded.  Wavering,  taken  by 
surprise,  distracted  between  love  and  fear,  the  youth 
behaved  with  excessive  awkwardness  at  the  beginning 
of  the  interview.  The  Grand  Duchess,  however,  en- 
couraged him,  inspired  him  with  audacity,  and  made 
him  every  advance,  till  at  length  he  vanquished  his 
timidity  and  indeed  became  very  daring. 

To  this  scene  of  transports,  adieus  suddenly  suc- 
ceeded, which  partook  as  much  of  terror,  and  of  des- 
potism, as  of  love.  The  Grand  Duchess  commanded 
the  youth,  in  the  most  tender  but  the  most  absolute 


94        MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

tone,  to  inform  the  Grand  Duke  that  he  could  not 
accept  the  rank  of  captain,  which  was  intended  to  be 
given  him.  She  added  that  he  must  depart,  instantly 
depart ;  and  that  his  head  must  answer  should  the 
least  circumstance  transpire.  She,  at  the  same  time, 
pressed  him  to  demand  some  mark  of  remembrance. 
The  terrified  youth,  confused  and  trembling,  requested 
a  black  ribbon,  which  she  took  from  her  domino.  He 
received  the  pledge,  and  so  totally  lost  all  recollection 
that  he  left  the  ball,  and  quitted  Petersburg,  without 
contriving  any  means  of  correspondence,  arrange- 
ments for  the  future,  or  precautions  of  any  kind,  in 
favor  of  his  fortune.  In  a  few  days  he  left  Russia, 
travelling  day  and  night,  and  did  not  write  to  the 
Grand  Duke  till  he  had  passed  the  frontiers.  He  re- 
ceived a  very  gracious  answer;  and  here  the  affair 
ended. 

This  person  is  returned  to,  and  is  now  in,  the  service 
of  France.  He  has  little  firmness,  but  does  not  want 
understanding.  Were  he  guided  he  might  certainly 
be  useful ;  at  least,  attempts  might  be  made  after  so 
extraordinary  an  incident.  But  for  this  it  would  be 
necessary  he  should  go  to  Russia  before  there  is  any 
change  of  monarch,  and  should  tempt  his  fortune,  now 
that  the  Grand  Duchess  has  not  so  much  fear.  I  am 
not  personally  acquainted  with  him,  but  I  can  dispose 
of  his  most  intimate  friend,  in  whom  every  dependence 
may  be  placed.  I  have  not  thought  proper  to  name 
the  hero  of  the  romance,  whom  it  is  not  necessary  to 
know,  unless  it  should  be  intended  to  afford  him  em- 
ployment. If,  on  the  contrary,  it  should  be  thought 
proper  for  him  to  pursue  any  such  plan,  I  will  name 
him  instantly. 

The  Elector  of  Bavaria  is  certainly  not  in  good 
health;  he  may  not  live  to  see  winter;  and  it  is 
scarcely  probable  he  will  reach  the  spring.  I  shall  go 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG        95 

from  hence  to  Dresden,  that  I  may  not  appear  to  ab- 
sent myself  purposely  for  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  I 
shall  remain  there  seven  or  eight  days,  as  long  at 
Brunswick,  and  three  or  four  weeks  in  the  whole.  My 
journey  will  be  exactly  of  the  same  duration  as  that  of 
the  King,  in  whose  absence  there  is  nothing  to  be 
learned,  and  I  shall  certainly  profit  by  my  peregrina- 
tions, and  learn  more  at  Brunswick  in  a  week  than  I 
should  here  divine  in  three  months. 

My  letter  is  too  long  to  speak  of  Turkey  in  Europe. 
I  doubt  the  Emperor  cannot  be  prevented,  if  he  is  not 
destitute  of  all  capacity,  from  marching  any  day  he 
shall  please  to  the  mouth  of  the  Danube;  but  on  the 
same  day  he  must  become  the  natural  enemy  of  Rus- 
sia, who  will  find  in  his  presence  one  too  many  on  the 
Black  Sea,  and  this  may  render  the  combined  projects 
abortive.  I  am  assured  that  Moldavia  and  Wallachia 
desire  to  be  under  the  Emperor's  Government.  This 
I  cannot  believe,  since  his  own  peasants  fly  their  coun- 
try, and  even  go  to  Poland,  rather  than  remain  in  his 
power.  But  the  before-mentioned  provinces  are  abso- 
lutely unprotected,  and  I  think  no  opposition  can  be 
made,  except  in  Roumelia  and  Bulgaria.  In  fine,  I 
believe  we  only,  by  promises  or  threats,  are  able  to 
prevent  the  Emperor  from  laboring  at  this  grand 
demolition.  If  we  believe  the  rodomontades  of 
Petersburg,  Russia  is  singly  capable  of  the  work.  But, 
were  she  to  attempt  it,  what  would  she  be  on  the  suc- 
ceeding day?  You  are  not  ignorant  she  has  received 
some  check ;  that  Prince  Heraclius  has  been  obliged  to 
desert  her  cause;  that  she  is  once  again  reduced  to 
defend  Mount  Caucasus  as  a  frontier;  that  she  cannot 
at  present  march  into  the  heart  of  the  Ottoman  terri- 
tories ;  and  that  perhaps  this  would  be  the  best  moment 
for  recovering  the  Crimea.  Should  all  these  partic- 
ulars be  true,  and  these  conjectures  well  founded,  it 


96        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

is  impossible  that  I  should  know  any  one  of  them  so 
perfectly  as  you  do  yourself. 

The  dispute,  relative  to  the  bailliage  of  Wuster- 
hausen,  has  been  very  nobly  ended  by  the  King.  He 
has  retaken  it,  but  has  made  an  annual  grant  of  fifty 
thousand  crowns  to  Prince  Henry,  seventeen  thousand 
of  which  the  latter  is  obliged  to  pay  Prince  Ferdinand. 
The  bailliage  does  not  produce  more  than  about  forty- 
three  thousand. 

Prince  Ferdinand  at  present  recants  the  renuncia- 
tion to  the  Margraviate  of  Anspach.  As  it  is  known 
that  Prince  Ferdinand  has  no  will  of  his  own,  it  is 
evident  he  receives  his  impulse  from  Prince  Henry, 
and  the  more  so,  because  this  is  the  manct  altd  mcntc 
repostmn  against  Count  Hertzberg.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  anything  more  silly,  or  better  calcu- 
lated eternally  to  embroil  him  with  the  King. 

I  have  always  regarded  the  singularity  of  Roman- 
zow,  of  not  going  into  mourning,  and  his  violence  with 
Count  Finckenstein  concerning  not  sending  a  com- 
plimentary envoy  to  Petersburg,  which  occasioned  the 
Count  to  demand  whether  he  had  orders  from  his 
Court  to  speak  in  such  a  style,  as  the  effervescence  of 
a  young  man;  especially  since  Baron  Reeden,  the 
Dutch  envoy,  did  not  likewise  go  into  mourning  from 
economy,  which  shows  it  was  not  considered  as  a  mat- 
ter of  any  great  importance.  As  these  debates  very 
ridiculously  occupied  the  corps  diplomatique  for  a 
week ;  and  as  the  Comte  d'Esterno,  who  has  conducted 
himself  well  on  the  occasion,  must  have  mentioned  it, 
I  thought  it  to  no  purpose  to  write  on  the  subject. 
But  as  Romanzow,  of  all  the  foreign  Ambassadors, 
did  not  attend  the  funeral  at  Potsdam,  this  mark, 
either  of  thoughtlessness  or  dissatisfaction,  was  felt; 
and,  the  time  necessary  to  receive  orders  being  past, 
I  send  information  of  the  fact,  to  which  I  do  not, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        97 

however,  pay  so  much  attention  as  the  good  people  in 
the  pit,  though  it  has  greatly  displeased  the  boxes. 
The  Cabinet  of  Berlin  must  long  have  known  that 
friendship,  on  the  part  of  Russia,  is  hopeless  till  the 
accession  of  the  Grand  Duke ;  but  it  is  impossible  to 
butt  with  more  force,  or  greater  disrespect,  than 
Romanzow  has  done. 


LETTER  XXIII 

September  loth,  1786. 

THE  following  are  some  particulars  concerning  what 
happened,  on  the  day  of  interment,  at  Potsdam. 

The  King  arrived  at  seven  o'clock.  At  half-past 
seven  he  went  with  the  Princesses  Frederica  and  Lou- 
isa of  Brunswick,  the  young  ladies  Knisbec,  Voss,  etc., 
to  see  the  chamber  of  Frederick.  It  was  small,  hung 
with  violet-colored  cloth,  and  loaded  with  ornaments 
of  black  and  silver.  At  the  far  end  was  an  alcove,  in 
which  the  coffin  was  placed,  under  the  portrait  of  the 
hero.  This  coffin  was  richly  ornamented  with  cloth 
of  silver,  laced  with  gold.  Toward  the  head  was  a 
casque  of  gold,  the  sword  that  Frederick  wore,  his 
military  staff,  the  ribbon  of  the  Black  Eagle,  and  gold 
spurs.  Round  the  coffin  were  eight  stools,  on  which 
•were  placed  eight  golden  cushions,  meant  to  sustain : 

1.  The  crown. 

2.  The  golden  globe  and  cross. 

3.  The  gold  box  containing  the  seal. 

4.  The  electoral  cap. 

5.  The  scepter. 

6.  The  Order  of  the  Golden  Eagle,  of  diamonds 
and  other  precious  stones. 

7.  The  royal  sword. 

8.  The  royal  hand. 


98        MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

The  balustrade  was  hung  with  violet-colored  velvet. 
A  splendid  glass  chandelier  was  in  the  center,  and  on 
each  side  was  a  mutilated  pyramid  of  white  marble 
veined  with  black;  that  is  to  say,  of  white  cloth,  mar- 
bled with  great  art.  The  chamber  appeared  to  me  to 
want  light. 

His  Majesty  afterward  passed  into  the  canopy  salon, 
hung  with  black,  and  adorned  with  plates  of  silver 
from  the  Berlin  palace;  and  next  into  the  grand  hall, 
hung  with  black.  Eight  artificial  black  columns  had 
been  added  to  this  immense  hall.  Its  only  embellish- 
ments were  garlands  of  cypress,  and  here  again  there 
was  too  little  light. 

In  about  half  an  hour  the  King  returned  to  his 
apartments;  and,  at  half  past  eight,  Prince  Henry, 
Prince  Ferdinand,  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswi.ck  came 
to  see  the  same  apartments,  where  they  only  remained 
five  minutes. 

At  a  quarter  past  nine  the  King  went  to  Prince 
Henry.  The  regiments  of  guards  formed  under  their 
windows.  The  canopy  was  brought;  it  was  of  black 
velvet,  surrounded  by  cloth  of  gold,  and  laced  with  a 
crape  fringe.  On  the  cloth  of  gold  were  black  eagles. 
Twelve  posts,  covered  with  velvet,  supported  the  can- 
opy; and  over  them  were  twelve  silver  eagles,  each  a 
foot  high,  which  produced  a  good  effect. 

After  the  canopy  came  the  state  coach;  very  large, 
very  low,  hung  with  white  satin  edged  with  gold  fringe, 
and  drawn  by  eight  horses  covered  with  black 
velvet. 

To  the  state  coach  succeeded  a  chariot,  in  black  vel- 
vet, on  which  was  a  black  crown,  drawn  by  eight 
cream-colored  horses,  in  black  velvet  harness,  on  which 
were  fixed  black  eagles,  embroidered  in  gold.  The 
livery  servants,  chamber  lackeys,  heydukes,  running 
footmen,  huntsmen,  and  pages  followed. 


The  Grand  Duchess  pressing  her  suit  with  the  young  Frenchman. 

—p.  93 
From    the   painting   by   VogJer. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG        99 

The  Princesses,  ushered  by  Messieurs  Goertz  and 
Bishopswerder,  were  at  church. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  procession  began.  The  place  of 
assembly  was  the  grand  hall  with  the  eight  columns. 
A  gentle  descent  had  been  made  from  the  grand  can- 
opy to  the  door,  to  which  the  state  coach  was  drawn 
up  to  receive  the  coffin.  The  road  from  the  palace 
to  the  church  was  planked,  and  covered  with  black 
cloth.  The  procession  was  truly  superb,  and  con- 
ducted with  great  order.  The  troops  formed  two 
lines. 

The  church  was  illuminated  with  wax  candles  and 
small  lamps;  and  the  coffin  was  deposited  under  a 
cupola,  supported  by  six  pillars  of  white  marble.  The 
organ  began  to  play  and  the  funeral  service  was  per- 
formed, which  continued  half  an  hour.  The  return 
was  not  disorderly,  but  it  was  not  made  in  procession. 

When  the  guests  came  back  to  the  palace,  the  tables 
were  ready  spread,  and  the  courses  were  served  up  at 
noon.  The  guests  rose  from  table  at  half  past  one. 
The  King,  Prince  Henry,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  and 
the  Princesses,  went  to  Sans  Souci.  Such  was  the 
manner  in  which  the  morning  was  spent. 

There  was  no  comparison  to  be  drawn  between  this 
and  the  funerals  of  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame  with 
respect  to  magnificence,  taste,  or  splendor;  but  they 
did  everything  that  could  be  done,  the  country  and  the 
time  considered. 

There  was  much  order  from  the  commencement  to 
the  close.  The  music  was  indifferent,  had  no  effect, 
no  energy,  no  charm,  and  was  ill  executed, — not  one 
good  voice,  Concialini  excepted,  who  did  not  sing 
well. 

The  tables  were  well  supplied,  the  viands  abundant 
and  select,  the  servants  numerous  and  orderly.  Each 
of  the  aides-de-camp  general  did  the  honors  of  a  table. 
4 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


ioo      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

• 

French,  Rhenish,  and  Hungarian  wines  were  served 

in  profusion. 

The  King,  going  to  table,  led  Prince  Henry.  On 
every  occasion  his  Majesty  saluted  with  dignity.  His 
countenance  was  neither  serious  nor  too  cheerful. 

He  testified  his  satisfaction  to  Reck,  who  replied 
that  Captain  Gonthard  had  regulated  the  whole;  and 
that  he  had  no  other  merit  except  that  of  having  pro- 
cured him  everything  of  which  he  stood  in  need. 

The  King  wore  the  grand  uniform  of  the  guards. 
The  Princes  were  booted.  Prince  Goethen  had  mourn- 
ing spurs,  which  was  remarked. 

The  King  went  and  returned  in  company  only  with 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick. 


LETTER    XXIV 

September  12th,   1786. 

THE  King  departs  to-morrow.  The  order  of  his  jour- 
ney has  undergone  no  change.  He  will  be  back  on  the 
28th,  and  again  set  out  on  the  2d  for  Silesia.  I  shall 
probably  have  a  good  opportunity,  on  his  return,  to 
speak  of  finance  and  of  substitutes.  Previous  to  this 
Panchaud  must  absolutely  unite  with  me  to  form  a 
good  plan  of  speculating  in  our  funds, — good  for  the 
finances,  and  in  particular  good  for  the  King  who  is  to 
be  allured.  Remember  the  importance  of  this  Monarch. 
Bishopswerder  increases  in  credit,  which  he  care- 
fully conceals.  Welner,  a  subaltern  creature,  endowed 
with  understanding,  management,  and  knowledge  of 
interior  affairs, — a  mystic  when  mysticism  was  neces- 
sary to  please,  and  cured  of  his  visions  since  the  King 
has  required  these  should  be  kept  secret, — active,  in- 
dustrious, and,  what  is  more,  sufficiently  obscure  to 
be  employed  without  creating  jealousy, — Welner,  I 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      101 

say,  appears  to  gain  prodigious  influence.  He  has  the 
qualities  necessary  to  succeed,  and  even  to  outwit  all 
his  competitors. 

I  again  repeat,  Boden  ought  not  to  be  neglected,  by 
the  way  of  insinuation.  He  is  vain,  and  should  be 
capable  of  corruption;  for,  always  suspected  of  the 
most  insatiable  avarice  and  the  basest  means,  he  has 
lost  a  place  of  eight  thousand  German  crowns  by  the 
death  of  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Cassel,  and,  it  is 
said,  is  driven  to  expedients.  He  corresponds  with 
the  King,  and  rather  intimately ;  that  which  he  should 
often  repeat  must  produce  an  effect.  He  is  the  hero 
to  slay  Hertzberg,  who,  I  may  add,  has  not  been  suc- 
cessful concerning  Holland,  and,  in  despite  of  whom, 
Thulemer  may  still  be  recalled. 

Prince  Henry  still  feeds  on  hopes.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  he  is  cajoled  by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  But  he 
is  exactly  at  the  same  point,  except  that  Hertzberg  is 
not  so  powerful.  The  King  intends  Alvensleben  for 
the  French  Embassy;  a  man  of  high  birth,  sense,  and 
wisdom,  as  it  is  affirmed.  He  is  at  Dresden.  I  shall 
endeavor  to  study  him  and  shall  take  him  letters. 

No  person  is  satisfied;  civil  and  military,  courtiers 
and  Ministers,  all  pout.  I  imagine  they  expected  it 
would  rain  gold.  I  have  nothing  to  add  to  my  prog- 
nostics, which  may  be  reduced  to  this  alternative :  the 
nation  sacrificed,  while  affairs  continue  tranquil,  that 
we  may  persuade  ourselves  we  govern;  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  should  perils  intervene,  and  the  storm 
begin  to  blow. 

In  the  name  of  business  and  of  friendship,  do  not 
forget  a  plan  of  operations  for  finance.  Schulemburg 
is  supported,  and  I  have  reasons  to  believe  he  will  not 
be  dismissed.  Should  I  acquire  influence  in  finance  I 
would  not  be  his  enemy.  He  will  be  more  serviceable 
than  any  other,  Baron  Knyphausen  only  excepted, 


102      MEMOIRS   OF   THE   COURTS   OF 

who  will  never  be  anything  while   Hertzberg  is  in 
power. 

Remember  that  you  have  an  incapable  envoy  in 
Bavaria,  and  that  this  will  become  an  embassy  of  im- 
portance at  the  death  of  the  Elector.  If  it  be  meant 
to  place  me,  which  must  be  meant  if  I  am  to  serve, 
had  not  I  best  make  my  first  appearance  here? 


LETTER    XXV 

DRESDEN,   September   i6th,    1786. 

I  SHALL  say  nothing  particular  to  you  yet  of  this  coun- 
try, as  you  may  suppose,  for  who  can  run  and  read? 
Besides,  I  find  the  inconvenience  of  having  no  cre- 
dentials, and,  consequently,  have  not  been  able  to 
speak  with  propriety  on  affairs,  except  in  very  general 
and  metaphorical  terms. 

Stuterheim,  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  with 
whom  I  have  dined,  is  said  to  be  a  very  well,  a  laby- 
rinth of  secrecy,  and  it  follows  that  his  subalterns  are 
exceedingly  reserved.  The  Ministers  here  rather  give 
in  their  REPORTS  than  act.  "  Give  in  their  reports  "  is 
the  consecrated  phrase.  But  I  have  been  so  well  con- 
vinced by  what  I  have  seen  under  Frederick  II.,  that 
the  King,  who  governs  most  himself,  is  so  little  the 
master,  and  is  so  infinitely  deceived,  that  I  am  per- 
fectly aware  of  the  degree  of  credit  which  these  Court 
dicta  deserve. 

I  have  seen  Alvensleben.  Should  he  go  to  France, 
I  do  not  think  he  will  live  long.  He  is  worn  out,  and 
only  keeps  himself  alive  by  extreme  abstinence,  and 
an  almost  total  sequestration  from  society.  He  is  well 
acquainted  with  Germany,  is  said  to  act  with  prudence 
and  propriety,  is  successful  in  what  he  undertakes, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      103 

and  has  a  good  moral  character.  He  is  not,  however, 
without  art,  and,  perhaps,  he  wishes  to  be  cunning. 
He  is  not  precisely  the  man  for  France,  but  he  is  a 
specimen  of  the  fruit  of  the  country,  and,  for  any 
other  use,  is  some  of  the  best  it  produces.  I  imagine 
you  will  find  him  agreeable. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  get  into  the  currency  of  the 
country,  but,  I  repeat,  while  I  shall  have  no  creden- 
tials, and  am  left  so  much  in  ignorance  concerning 
home  affairs,  I  shall  be  much  more  proper  to  collect 
literary  and  written  opinions  than  for  any  other  busi- 
ness; and  the  thoughts  of  men  are  not  written  in  their 
faces.  Nor  do  you,  for  example,  find  in  any  book  that 
a  Prime  Minister  has  confided  his  eldest  son,  on  his 
travels,  to  such  a  blockhead  as  G ,  or  to  a  Cheva- 
lier dtt  Vivier,  who  never  utters  a  word  that  he  does 
not  utter  an  absurdity,  and,  perhaps,  some  that  are 
dangerous.  But  why  has  he  related  that  he  waited  at 
Hamburg  five  weeks  for  permission  to  take  the  Vi- 
comte  de  Vergennes  to  Berlin,  on  occasion  of  the  ac- 
cession of  the  King,  and  that  this  was  refused  ?  Is  he 
afraid  that  they  should  be  insensible  at  Berlin  of  the 
affectation  of  having  avoided  that  Court?  I  should 
never  finish  were  I  to  cite  all  the  incoherencies  he 
utters,  the  least  of  which  is  ridiculous  in  the 
extreme. 

In  reality,  if  I  am  to  commence  as  a  subaltern  in  the 
diplomatic  corps,  I  have  no  objection  to  Hamburg, 
where,  exclusive  of  the  great  intercourse  of  the  com- 
merce of  the  North,  with  which  we  are  unacquainted, 
and  in  which  we  do  not  sufficiently  participate,  since 
we  wish  to  have  an  envoy  there,  we  ought  to  have 
an  active  person,  instead  of  one  from  whom  noth- 
ing is  so  desirable  as  that  he  should  be  deaf  and 
dumb. 

The  vast  connections  that  are  between  the  grand 


104      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

emporiums  of  trade  are  such  that  these  posts  are  never 
things  of  indifference.  Why  do  not  they  bestow  a 
sinecure  on  M.  du  Vivier? 


LETTER    XXVI 

DRESDEN,  September  igth,  1786. 

THERE  are  few  MEN  here,  yet  is  the  machine  tolerably 
well  regulated;  nothing  can  better  prove  that  order 
and  constancy  are  more  necessary  for  good  govern- 
ment than  great  talents. 

The  extreme  credit  of  Marcolini  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  popular  rumor.  He  is  a  favorite  without  ascend- 
ency (as  without  merit)  at  least  in  the  Cabinet;  his 
influence  does  not  extend  beyond  the  Court.  At  pres- 
ent he  is  in  Italy,  and  the  routine  of  affairs  is  the 
same.  Probably  some  favors  which  pass  through  his 
hands,  and  which  the  excessive  devotion  of  the  Elec- 
tor rather  bestows  on  Catholics  than  on  Lutherans, 
are  the  real  cause  of  these  murmurs ;  which,  however, 
are  sufficiently  believed  to  occasion  the  Emperor  to 
make  a  stupid  blunder.  He  has  sent  here  one  of  the 
silliest  of  Ambassadors — one  O'Kelly,  an  Irishman — 
because  Marcolini  had  married  his  niece.  He  thought 
by  this  means  to  have  governed  everything;  but  the 
trap  was  so  palpably  gross  that  no  one  has  taken  the 
trouble  to  remove  the  bait. 

The  Ministers  who  have  real  influence  are  Stuter- 
heim  and  Gudschmidt.  The  first  is  very  infirm,  but 
prudent,  sage,  and  with  understanding  enough  to  know 
on  what  subjects  he  is  ignorant,  to  ask  information, 
and  to  consult  others.  He,  however,  draws  near  his 
end.  The  second  does  not  show  himself  to  the  world. 
It  is  affirmed  that  he  is  a  man  of  the  greatest  merit; 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      ids 

that  he  has  infinite  knowledge ;  that  not  a  single  pam- 
phlet in  any  language  throughout  Europe  escapes  him ; 
that  his  judgment  is  sound,  his  understanding  per- 
spicuous and  penetrating,  and  his  temper  communi- 
cative ;  which  last  quality  is  in  him  the  more  compati- 
ble with  discretion  because  he  possesses  its  piety  with- 
out its  superstitions.  He  ranks  first  in  the  confidence 
of  the  Elector;  but  it  must  be  added  he  is  sixty  years 
of  age,  and  has  ill  health. 

Among  the  Ministers  we  must  also  enumerate  M. 
Worm,  a  well-informed  man,  who  possesses  some  prin- 
ciples of  political  economy,  with  information  not  very 
common  on  the  general  relations  of  commerce,  to- 
gether with  industry,  activity,  and  great  quickness  of 
apprehension ;  but,  as  it  is  said,  rarely  with  much  just- 
ness of  understanding.  His  moral  character  is  sus- 
pected. He  is  accused  of  not  keeping  his  hands  pure 
from  bribery;  but  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  he  is  of 
great  service  to  internal  government.  He  appeared 
to  me  to  be  artful,  communicative,  ironical,  satirical, 
and  crafty,  but  very  proper  for  business  in  all  coun- 
tries. 

Of  all  the  foreign  Ambassadors,  I  believe  M.  Saft- 
zing,  from  Sweden,  to  be  the  only  one  above,  or  rather 
not  below,  mediocrity.  I  except  the  English  envoy, 
who  has  the  character  of  being  an  able  man,  but  whom 
I  have  not  yet  any  proper  opportunity  for  examining. 
He  is  open  and  complaisant,  even  to  affectation,  con- 
sidering that  his  character  is  English.  If  we  except 
Alvensleben,  not  one  of  the  remainder  deserves  the 
honor  of  being  mentioned. 

The  Elector  is  a  man  distinct  from  Princes  in  gen- 
eral, yet  he  appears  to  partake  of  the  character  of  the 
King  of  England.  The  consistency  of  his  mind,  which 
is  entire,  has  a  small  alloy  of  obstinacy.  I  spoke  but 
little  to  him,  because  of  the  confusion  of  the  dinner. 


106      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Etiquette  is  observed  at  the  table  of  the  Elector;  con- 
sequently I  paid  every  care  and  attention  to  seat  M. 
de  Vergennes  near  the  Prince.  He  speaks  with  intel- 
ligence and  precision,  but  his  voice  is  harsh,  sharp,  and 
shrill.  His  dress  and  countenance  seemed  to  indicate 
devout  and  wheedling,  but  acute  and  implacable,  jeal- 
ousy. The  very  ill  education  of  the  Electress,  her 
noisy  mode  of  speech,  and  her  unreserved  freedom, 
greatly  occupy  this  Prince  to  his  disadvantage;  for, 
besides  that  such  kind  of  vigilance  ever  bears  some- 
what of  the  stamp  of  ridicule,  his  crabbed  figure,  ren- 
dered more  disagreeable  by  a  paralytic  affection  of 
the  eyes,  becomes  at  such  moments  restless,  disturbed, 
and  hideous. 

Such,  and  so  ungracious,  as  he  is  here  depicted,  he 
is  a  Prince  who,  from  many  considerations,  is  worthy 
esteem  and  respect.  Since  the  year  1763,  his  desire  to 
do  good,  his  economy,  his  indefatigable  labors,  his  in- 
numerable privations,  his  perseverance,  and  his  in- 
dustry, have  not  for  a  moment  relaxed.  He  has  paid 
all  the  personal  debts  of  the  Electors;  and  is  advanced 
in  the  liquidation  of  the  debts  of  the  State.  He  pur- 
sues his  plans  with  inflexible  punctuality.  Slow,  but 
not  irresolute,  difficult  in  accomplishing,  but  intelligent, 
with  few  resources  at  a  first  view,  but  possessed  of  apti- 
tude and  the  gift  of  meditation,  his  only  weakness 
arises  from  his  religion,  which  yet  does  not  occasion 
him  to  exaggerate  his  rights,  or  to  neglect  his  duties. 
One  step  further  and  he  would  have  been  a  bigot, 
and  one  step  backward  and  he  would  no  longer  be  a 
devotee.  It  is  much  to  be  doubted  whether  his  con- 
fessor, Hertz,  has  the  least  influence  except  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  some  footmen's  places.  The  Elector  sup- 
ports his  Ministers  with  uncommon  firmness,  against 
all,  and  to  all.  In  a  word,  but  for  him  the  country  had 
been  undone;  and,  should  he  have  the  good  fortune 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      107 

to  see  a  duration  of  peace,  he  will  render  it  very 
flourishing.  Population  visibly  increases;  the  annual 
surplus  of  births  over  deaths  amounts  to  twenty  thou- 
sand; and  the  number  of  the  people  is  less  than  two 
millions.  Trade,  which  might  be  better,  is  not  bad. 
The  army  imitates  that  of  Prussia,  over  which  it  has 
the  advantage  of  being  purely  national ;  but,  to  say  the 
truth,  Saxony  is  the  least  military  of  all  the  provinces 
of  Germany.  Credit  is  good,  and  even  great.  The 
paper  currency  is  at  par,  or  nearly ;  and  the  interest  of 
money  at  four  per  cent.  The  Cabinet  of  Dresden  is 
the  only  one  in  Europe  which  has  adopted  the  true 
principles  of  coinage.  Agriculture  is  in  a  state  of  pass- 
able respectability.  Manufactures  are  free;  the  rights 
of  the  people  are  unf ringed;  justice  is  impartially  ad- 
ministered; in  a  word,  all  things  considered,  it  is  the, 
most  happy  country  in  Germany.  Yet  this  is  a  re- 
markable circumstance,  and  excites  admiration  when 
we  recollect  the  terrible  scourges  which  have  succes- 
sively, and  sometimes  collectively,  laid  this  fine,  but  ill- 
situated  country,  desolate. 

They  are  persuaded  here  that  we  instigate  the  Turk ; 
that  there  is  a  coolness  between  the  two  imperial 
Courts;  and  that  Russia  is  in  want  of  men,  money, 
and  horses.  It  must  be  frankly  owned  that  her  bank 
operations  have  a  gloomy  appearance.  It  is  supposed 
we  shall  endeavor,  should  it  be  absolutely  necessary,  to 
effect  a  diversion  in  Germany,  without  interfering, 
except  by  coming  to  the  aid  of  those  who  should  be 
too  much  exposed  to  danger.  For  no  one  imagines  we 
shall  suffer  Germany  to  devolve  on  one  single  head, 
nor  even  to  be  divided  between  two.  And,  with 
respect  to  Turkey  in  Europe,  it  is  thought  that  our 
int' iest,  conjointly  with  that  of  England,  will,  by  one 
means  or  other,  avert  the  destruction  with  which  it  is 
menaced. 


108      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

On  inquiry,  I  find  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  has  not 
properly  had  an  attack.  He  has  only  changed  his  mis- 
tress; and  when  he  does  so,  he  alters  his  regimen  to 
excite  venery.  It  happens  on  these  occasions  that  he 
has  nervous  affections,  which  resemble  false  attacks, 
and  which  will  some  day  bring  on  a  paralytic  stroke. 
His  life  is  not  depended  upon. 

The  hostilities  of  the  Stadtholder  have  produced  an 
effect  here  greatly  to  his  disadvantage.  For  my  part,  I 
do  not  think  his  affairs  in  so  disastrous  a  state  as  they 
seem  to  be  believed.  Should  we  embroil  province  with 
province,  we  shall  lose  our  advantages ;  it  will  in  vain 
be  urged  that  the  Stadtholder  is  master  of  Guelderland ; 
the  nobility  is  numerous  in  that  province,  and  they 
form  A  PUBLIC  opinion. 

I  send  you  the  state  of  the  military  in  the  Electorate 
of  Saxony,  which  is  no  secret ;  but  I  shall  also  add,  by 
the  next  courier,  that  of  the  public  stores,  which  I  pro- 
cured by  a  singular  accident,  the  particulars  of  which 
it  would  be  useless  here  to  relate.  I  shall  only  remark 
that  the  custom  which  the  Elector  has  for  several  years 
adopted  in  his  offices,  of  employing  supernumeraries 
without  salaries,  might  give  place  to  discovery,  however 
well  secrets  may  here  be  kept. 

I  shall  commit  to  M.  de  Vibraye,  who  is  returning 
to  Paris,  all  the  minutes  of  my  ciphers,  well  and  duly 
sealed,  and  addressed  to  you. 

He  does  not  expect  to  return  hither,  and  has  hopes 
of  the  Swedish  Embassy. 

May  not  the  changes  which  will  take  place  in  the 
corps  diplomatique,  by  the  vacancy  of  M.  d'Adhemard, 
afford  an  opportunity  of  giving  me  something  more 
agreeable  and  less  precarious  than  a  secret  commission, 
which  must  end  of  course,  with  the  life  of  a  Minister 
who  is  hastening  toward  the  grave?  I  hope  your 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       109 

friendship  will  not  slumber.  You  must  own  others 
might  act  with  less  diligence.  If  you  will  take  the 
trouble  again  to  read  my  dispatches  as  they  are  here 
sent,  not  in  ciphers  but  correct,  and  will  at  the  same 
time  consider  all  the  difficulties  of  various  kinds  that 
I  have  had  to  surmount,  and  a  few  means  which  my 
cloudy  situation  can  afford,  you  will  not  be  dissatisfied 
with  my  correspondence.  Since,  for  example,  Zelle 
has  published  the  history  of  the  King's  disease,  I  have 
the  satisfaction  to  perceive  the  information  I  sent  you 
was  exact.  True  it  is  that,  under  the  late  King,  at 
the  conclusion  of  so  long  a  reign,  a  man  knew  to  whom 
to  address  himself ;  whereas  at  present  it  is  necessary 
to  discover  which  are  the  doors  at  which  you  must 
knock.  Yet  I  think  I  have  given  a  passable  picture 
of  men  and  things.  And  what  could  I  not  effect  of  this 
kind,  what  could  I  not  discover,  had  I  credentials  ? 


LETTER  XXVII 

DRESDEN,  September  2ist,   1786. 

I  HAVE  several  times  mentioned,  and  particularly  in 
Numbers  XL  and  XIX.,  this  Boden;  I  can  only  refer 
you  to  the  circumstances  you  will  there  find. 

As  to  the  person  named  Dufour,  whose  real  name  is 
Chauvier,  and  who  was  a  journeyman  barber  in 
France,  had  I  thought  it  of  any  importance  I  should 
have  spoken  before  and  given  his  character  at  full ;  for 
he  is  one  of  the  circuitous  paths  pointed  out  to  me 
by  Prince  Henry.  He  certainly  had  influence  over  the 
Heir  Apparent,  which  he  obtained : 

i.  Because  he  was  persecuted  by  the  late  King,  by 
whom  he  had  been  expelled ;  so  that,  in  order  to  re- 
turn, he  was  obliged  to  take  the  name  of  Dufour, 


i  io      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

which  is  that  of  a  family  of  the  French  colonists. 
And— 

2.  That  he  might  aid  to  banish  the  spleen.  He 
often  dined  in  private  with  the  Prince,  who  was  so 
familiar  with  him,  some  time  before  his  accession, 
that  when  wearied  with  his  discourse  he  would  dryly 
bid  him  hold  his  tongue.  Dufour  was  one  of  those 
with  whom  I  should  have  made  myself  intimate,  had 
the  King  continued  to  live  some  time  longer;  and  he 
was  among  the  persons  and  things  that  occasioned 
me  to  project  a  journey  to  Potsdam.  But  death  sud- 
denly interposed,  and  I  should  have  sought  his  in- 
timacy too  abruptly;  not  to  mention  that  subaltern 
influence  has,  on  the  King's  accession,  totally  disap- 
peared. 

The  person  named  Chapuis  is  a  man  who  is  not  de- 
ficient in  understanding  and  address.  He  was  born  in 
French  Switzerland.  He  is  the  governor  of  the  nat- 
ural son  of  the  King,  and  the  well-beloved  of  Madame 
Rietz.  Thinking  his  acquaintance  might  be  valuable 
in  many  respects,  I  consequently  sought  it,  under  the 
pretense  of  literature  only ;  but  at  present  Chapuis  has 
not  in  himself  any  one  point  of  contact.  To  run  after 
such  people,  so  circumstanced,  would  but  be  to  render 
myself  suspicious  to  no  purpose.  I  mentioned  to  you, 
on  my  return  from  Rheinsberg  (Number  XL),  "I 
have  numerous  modes  of  communication,  which  will 
develop  themselves  as  time  and  opportunity  shall 
serve."  But  these  have  been  retarded  by  the  accession. 
Applications  of  this  secret  kind  can  only  be  made  in 
the  depth  of  winter,  and  during  the  Carnival,  with 
utility  and  safety. 

These,  generally,  are  rather  TOOLS  proper  for  a  spy 
to  work  with  than  the  engines  of  influence.  Should 
such  people  ever  have  power  over  foreign  politics,  the 
puissance  of  Prussia  must  draw  to  a  conclusion.  This 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      in 

country  must  not  be  estimated  by  France ;  there  is  not 
here  the  same  margin  in  which  to  insert  follies,  or  to 
correct.  And  as  in  general  man  remains  at  that  point 
where  it  is  necessary  he  should  be  fixed,  the  King  of 
Prussia  will  act  with  circumspection  in  what  relates  to 
foreign  affairs. 

Not  that  this  should  prevent  us  from  recollecting 
that  we  ought  to  guard,  with  extreme  caution,  against 
a  coalition  between  Prussia  and  Austria,  for  this  sys- 
tem also  is  capable  of  defense.  It  is  even  the  easiest 
of  execution,  and  the  most  splendid ;  nor  would  Prince 
Henry  be  so  averse  to  it  as  he  himself  supposes,  should 
he  perceive  the  least  glimmering  of  hope.  Hitherto, 
indeed,  I  have  not  noticed  anything  that  could  give 
suspicion,  but  I  shall  more  carefully  examine  whatever 
might  occasion  such  an  event,  on  my  return  to  Berlin. 
There  can  be  little  danger  that  I  should  become  lan- 
guid in  the  pursuit  of  this  object,  having  four  years 
ago  published  my  fears  of  such  an  event,  and  having 
begun  to  send  my  static  tables  of  Austria,  only  that 
you  might  attentively  consider  the  immense  basis  of 
power  which  the  Emperor  possesses,  and  whose  al- 
liance with  France  I  cannot  but  consider  as  the  mas- 
terpiece of  Prince  Kaunitz,  and  the  type  of  our  indel- 
ible levity. 

It  may  be  that  this  power  of  the  Emperor  is  as  much 
overrated  elsewhere  as  it  is  the  reverse  in  France; 
but  even  this  is  a  reason  which  may  lead  to  prefer,  in- 
stead of  the  perilous  honor  of  being  the  champion  of 
the  Germanic  liberties,  the  easy  and  deceptive  advan- 
tage of  dividing  the  spoils.  Therefore,  delay  appears 
to  me  more  unseasonable  than  it  has  been,  for  it  is 
probable  that  the  King  of  Prussia,  having  once 
pledged  himself,  will  not  recede,  which  seems  to  be 
warranted  by  his  personal  probity,  his  hatred  of  the 
Emperor,  the  antipathy  that  exists  between  the  two 


ii2      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

nations,  and  the  universal  opinion  which  prevails 
that  the  chief  of  the  empire  is  a  perfidious  Prince. 

Your  project  concerning  Brunswick  is  certainly  ex- 
cellent, and  I  shall  spare  no  labor  that  may  tend  to  give 
it  success.  But  the  man  is  very  circumspect,  Hertz- 
berg  very  vehement,  and  the  crisis  equally  urgent. 

I  have  conversed  with  several  of  the  English  who 
are  returned  from  the  Emperor's  reviews;  he  behaved 
there  with  great  affability,  and  was  very  talkative. 
He  particularly  distinguished  a  French  officer,  who 
had  traveled  on  horseback,  that  not  a  single  military 
position  might  escape  him  on  his  route.  The  Austrian 
troops,  in  general,  manceuver  well  by  companies,  and 
even  tolerably  by  regiments,  but,  collectively,  their  in- 
feriority to  the  Prussian  army  is  prodigious.  Opinions 
on  this  point  are  unanimous.  They  were  not  capable 
of  keeping  their  distances,  even  when  filing  off  in  the 
presence  of  the  Emperor.  This  grand  pivot,  on  which 
tactics  turn,  is  unknown  to  the  Austrians,  whereas  the 
Prussians  so  habitually,  so  religiously,  observe  their 
distances,  that  any  failure  of  this  kind  is  an  error  un- 
heard of. 

The  inferiority  of  the  Austrian  army  compared  to 
the  Prussian,  is  attributed : 

1.  To  the  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of  officers  and 
subalterns,  compared  to  the  number  of  soldiers. 

2.  To   the   economy,    totally   anti-military,    of   the 
Emperor,  who,  while  the  companies  nominally  consist 
of  two  hundred  men,  does  not  maintain  more  than 
fifty  or  sixty  under  arms,  and  sends  the  others  home, 
even  against  their  will,  so  that  three-fourths  of  the 
soldiers  are  never  disciplined. 

3.  To  the  troops  being  dispersed,  kept  in  petty  de- 
tachments,  and   never   exercised   as   a   whole,   except 
when  they  are  encamped,  where,  even  then,  they  are 
disciplined  by  detail. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       113 

4.  To  the  very  great  inferiority  of  the  officers.  The 
corps  of  captains  forms  the  soul  of  the  Prussian  army, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  is  the  disgrace  of  the  Austrian, 
etc. 

It  is  generally  affirmed  that,  should  the  two  nations 
go  to  war,  there  is  little  doubt  concerning  which  would 
have  the  advantage;  that  there  is  no  equality  between 
them,  even  supposing  their  generals  to  be  equal;  and 
that  the  contest  most  certainly  would  be  favorable  to 
the  Prussians,  during  the  first  campaign.  But  this 
equality  of  generals  is  not  true.  Laudon,  though  still 
vigorous,  cannot  wear  much  longer.  Besides  that,  he 
has  often  said  he  never  would  command  an  army,  un- 
less at  the  distance  of  four  hundred  miles  from  the 
Emperor.  The  abilities  of  Lacy  are  suspected,  though 
he  enjoys  the  entire  confidence  of  Joseph  II.,  and, 
it  is  rumored,  has  rendered  himself  singularly  neces- 
sary, by  the  complication  of  the  military  machine. 
No  commander  in  the  Austrian  army  can  contend 
against  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  nor  even  against  Kal- 
creuth,  or  Moellendorf. 

Persons  who  have  come  very  lately  from  Russia 
affirm  that  the  Empress  is  in  good  health  and  that 
ERMENOW  has  obliterated  her  long  sorrows  for  the 
death  of  LANSKOI.  It  is  also  said  that  Belsborotko 
gains  ground  upon  Potemkin,  but  of  this  I  more  than 
doubt. 

I  have  no  belief  in  the  facility  with  which  the  fifth 
dispatch  may  be  deciphered.  I  think  that,  in  general, 
the  ciphers  have  rather  been  conjectured  than  divined. 
The  way  by  which  they  are  commonly  known  is  the 
official  communication  of  writings,  which  is  made 
from  one  Court  to  another,  and,  which  the  Minister 
has  sometimes  the  ill  address  to  send  without  his  ac- 
customed cipher,  on  a  known  day.  This  is  a  quick- 
sand of  which  I  am  not  in  danger.  It  is  necessary, 


H4      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

however,  to  have  a  variety  of  ciphers,  and  I  entreat 
you  will  not  neglect  any  occasion  of  sending  me  some 
that  are  new  and  more  complete. 


LETTER  XXVIII 

DRESDEN,  September  24th,  1786. 

YOUR  letter  of  the  fourth  of  September,  which,  by 
mistake,  your  secretaries  have  dated  the  fourth  of 
August,  came  to  hand  very  late,  and  I  shall  reply 
without  written  references  and  solely  from  memory, 
in  the  annexed  sheet,  to  the  principal  points.  I  had, 
indeed,  previously  answered  them;  nor  do  I  believe 
that  anything  has  escaped  me  which  it  was  in  my 
power  to  learn,  or  that  I  have  any  reason  to  repent 
having  sacrificed  too  much  to  respect  and  to  proba- 
bilities, at  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  King.  Had  I 
pursued  my  plan,  I  should  have  been  four  days  sooner 
than  any  of  the  diplomatic  couriers;  but  I  request 
you  will  answer  me  whether  it  was  possible  to  divine 
the  conduct  of  our  embassy.  I  disregarded  the  minute 
circumstances  of  death,  as  I  had  done  that  of  the  news 
itself;  nor  could  I  divine  that  these,  being  no  longer 
secret,  and  having  become  so  easy  to  examine  and  de- 
scribe, should  yet  have  remained  secrets  to  you.  I 
suspect  it  the  less  because  certain  Ambassadors  (in- 
deed, most  of  them)  appeared  to  me  so  embarrassed 
by  the  completing  of  their  dispatches  that  I  should  not 
have  imagined  they  would  have  disdained  a  supply 
which  was  to  be  obtained  with  so  much  facility.  Sat- 
isfied also  with  having  informed  you,  thanks  to  lucky 
circumstances,  of  the  progress  of  the  disease,  in  such 
a  manner  as  few  Ministers  were  informed,  I  despised 
those  particulars  that  were  become  public.  But  there 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      115 

were  some  that  were  sufficiently  interesting,  relative 
to  the  last  two  days  of  the  King,  from  which  a  ban- 
quet might  be  prepared  at  an  easy  expense;  and  the 
poignancy  of  which  not  death  itself  could  destroy, — 
relating  as  they  did  to  a  mortal  so  extraordinary, 
both  in  body  and  mind. 

His  disease,  which  would  have  killed  ten  men,  was 
,of  eleven  months'  continuance,  without  interruption, 
and  almost  without  relaxation,  after  his  first  fit  of 
an  asphyxic  apoplexy,  from  which  he  was  recovered 
by  emetics,  and  after  which  the  first  word  he  uttered, 
with  an  imperious  gesture,  was  SILENCE.  Nature 
made  four  different  efforts  to  save  this  her  rare  com- 
position,— twice  by  diarrhoeas,  and  twice  again  by 
cuticular  eruptions.  Hence  it  might  be  said,  by  the 
worshipers  of  a  God,  that  this  his  image  was  broken 
by  the  Creator  himself;  and  that  nature  did  not  aban- 
don one  of  the  most  beauteous  of  her  works  till  the 
total  destruction  of  the  organs,  exhausted  by  age,  had 
been  effected;  nor  till  after  a  continual  warfare  be- 
tween body  and  mind  during  forty-six  years;  till 
after  fatigues  and  agitations  of  every  kind  which 
signalized  this  fairy  reign,  and  after  the  most  ruinous 
disease. 

This  man  died  on  the  seventeenth  of  August,  at 
twenty  minutes  past  two  in  the  morning;  and  on  the 
fifteenth,  when,  contrary  to  his  constant  custom,  he 
slept  till  eleven  o'clock,  he  transacted  his  Cabinet 
business,  though  his  feebleness  was  excessive,  without 
any  want  of  attention;  and  even  with  a  conciseness 
scarcely  perhaps  to  be  found  in  any  other  Prince  in 
good  health.  Thus  when,  on  the  sixteenth,  the  reigning 
Monarch  sent  orders  to  Zelle  to  repair  instantaneously 
to  Potsdam,  because  the  King  had  remained  insensible 
almost  since  the  noon  of  the  day  before,  and  because 
he  was  in  a  lethargic  sleep,  the  physician,  arriving 


n6      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

at  three  o'clock,  and  finding  Frederick  II.,  with  ani- 
mation in  his  eyes,  sensibility  in  his  organs,  and  so 
much  recollection,  not  being  called,  dared  not  make 
his  appearance.  Zelle  judged  he  was  past  recovery  less 
from  the  cadaverous  odor  which  exhaled  from  his 
wound  than  because  he,  for  the  first  time  during  the 
whole  course  of  his  reign,  did  not  recollect  that  he  had 
not  expedited  the  affairs  of  the  Cabinet.  The  con- 
clusion was  sagely  drawn :  dying  only  could  he  forget 
his  duty.  .  .  .  Two-thirds  of  Berlin  at  present  are 
violently  declaiming  in  order  to  prove  that  Frederick 
II.  was  a  man  of  common,  and  almost  of  mean  ca- 
pacity. Ah!  could  his  large  eyes,  which  obedient  to 
his  wishes  seduced  or  terrified  the  human  heart,  could 
they  but  for  a  moment  open,  where  would  these  idiot 
parasites  find  courage  sufficient  to  expire  with  shame? 


LETTER  XXIX 

DRESDEN,  September  26th,  1786. 

CONVERSING  with  a  well-informed  man  who  is  re- 
turned from  Russia,  I  learned  a  fact  totally  strange 
to  me,  though  no  doubt  known  to  the  Comte  de  Ver- 
gennes;  but,  whether  or  no,  one  which  appeared  to 
me  proper  to  make  you  acquainted  with;  and  more 
especially  because  the  project  is  pursued  with  greater 
ardor  than  ever. 

When  Hyder  Ali,  having  advanced  beyond  the 
Orixa,  was  at  the  height  of  his  prosperous  success, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  north  of  Bengal,  interrupted  in 
their  customary  commerce  by  the  conflict  between  the 
English  and  their  enemies,  brought  their  iron  as  far 
as  the  frontiers  of  Siberia,  there  to  find  a  market. 
This  extraordinary  fact  was  the  cause  of  a  remarka- 


BERLIN    AND    ST.    PETERSBURG      117 

ble  attempt  made  by  Russia,  in  1783.  She  sent  a 
fleet  to  Astracan,  to  seize  on  Astrabat,  there  to  form 
an  establishment,  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  Cas- 
pian Sea,  and  thence  to  penetrate  into  the  interior  parts 
of  India.  The  enterprise  failed;  but  is  so  far  from 
being  abandoned  that,  at  this  moment,  a  plan  may 
be  seen  in  relief  at  Petersburg,  of  the  works  by  which 
it  is  intended  to  fortify  Astrabat. 

Of  all  the  gigantic  projects  of  Russia  this  is,  per- 
haps, the  least  unreasonable ;  since  it  is  pointed  out  by 
the  nature  of  things,  and  since  there  is  already  an  in- 
land navigation  completely  carried  on  from  Astracan, 
on  the  Volga,  the  Mita,  the  Lake  Jemen,  the  Wologda, 
the  Canal  of  Ladoga,  and  the  Neva,  to  Petersburg. 
Should  this  plan  ever  be  pursued  with  activity  and 
success,  it  must  either  happen  that  England  will  seri- 
ously think  of  an  alliance  with  us,  against  the  system 
of  the  North,  or  she  must  suffer  every  sort  of  an  ad- 
vantage to  be  obtained  over  her  at  Petersburg ;  for  the 
interest  of  the  Russians  must  then  become  totally  op- 
posite to  those  of  the  English;  and  hence  may  arise 
dreadful  hurricanes,  that  may  sweep  away  their  puis- 
sance in  the  East. 

How  many  revolutions,  how  much  strife  between 
men  and  things,  shall  be  occasioned  by  the  development 
of  the  destiny  of  that  empire  which  successively  over- 
awes and  enslaves  all  surrounding  nations?  It  must, 
indeed,  be  owned  that  her  influence  in  each  place  ought 
to  decrease  in  an  inverse  proportion  to  the  multiplicity 
of  these  places.  But  how  great  is  the  influence  of 
these  augmenting  points  of  contact,  relative  to  Eu- 
rope !  And,  without  prematurely  divining  the  fate  of 
Turkey  in  Europe,  with  an  intent  to  overcharge  the 
picture,  should  Russia  seize  on  the  Polish  Ukraine,  as 
the  manner  in  which  she  is  arming  on  the  Black  Sea, 
and  disposing  of  her  commerce,  seem  to  indicate  and 


n8     MEMOIRS    OF    THE    COURTS    OF 

to  threaten,  how  much  greater  shall  they  still  be? 
What  species  of  understanding  must  the  Emperor  pos- 
sess, if  it  be  impossible  to  make  him  perceive  that  the 
Turks  and  the  Poles  are  less  dangerous  neighbors  than 
those  strange  people;  who  are  susceptible  of  all,  capa- 
ble of  all,  who  become  the  best  soldiers  in  the  world, 
and  who,  of  all  the  men  that  inhabit  the  globe,  are 
the  most  malleable  ? 

The  various  ideas  I  have  acquired  here,  where  I 
have  made  a  tolerable  harvest,  will  be  comprised  in  a 
particular  memorial.  They  are  not  immediately  neces- 
sary, and  are  too  numerous  to  be  inserted  in  my  dis- 
patches. But  there  was  one  temptation,  which  was 
rather  expensive,  that  I  could  not  resist.  The  Elector 
has  employed  his  engineers  in  the  topography  of 
Saxony.  Twenty- four  maps  have  already  been  laid 
down ;  they  are  kept  in  great  secrecy,  and  yet,  by  pay- 
ing some  louis  for  each  map,  I  can  have  them  copied. 
True  it  is  I  recollected  that,  since  I  COULD,  M.  de 
Vibraye  perhaps  HAS — but,  as  we  rarely  do  all  we  may, 
or  even  all  we  ought  to  do,  it  is  excedingly  possible 
this  should  not  be  so;  and  then  I  should  have  lost  an 
opportunity  that  nevermore  could  be  recovered.  This 
reflection  determined  me,  in  the  hope  that  the  intent 
of  the  act  would  be  its  apology;  and,  as  I  have  not 
put  the  Government  to  the  least  fruitless  expense,  or 
which  did  not  appertain  to  the  better  execution  of  the 
office  I  have  undertaken,  my  surplus  accounts,  I  sup- 
pose, will  be  passed. 

The  Elector  of  Bavaria  is  not  ill.  His  new  mistress 
seems  only  to  have  been  the  whim  of  a  day,  and  his 
favor  again  reverts  to  his  former,  Madame  von  Tor- 
ring  Seefeld,  originally  Minuzzi. 


BERLIN    AND    ST.    PETERSBURG      119 


DRESDEN,  September  30th,  1786. 

You  have  been  informed,  no  doubt,  by  the  courier  of 
Tuesday,  of  what  happened  on  Monday,  at  the  first 
Court  held  by  the  Queen;  but,  as  I  think  it  is  proper 
I  should  add  some  reflections  on  this  subject,  I  shall 
begin  by  relating  what  passed. 

The  Princess  Frederica  of  Prussia,  who  imagined 
that,  according  to  the  very  sensible  custom  of  the 
country,  the  Queen  would  sit  down  to  play  with  na- 
tives, and  not  with  foreign  ambassadors,  had  placed 
the  Comte  d'Esterno  at  her  table;  for  it  was  she  who 
arranged  the  parties.  She  asked  the  Queen  whom  she 
appointed  for  her  own  table.  The  Queen  named 
Prince  Reuss,  the  Austrian  Ambassador,  and  the 
Prince  of  Goethe;  but,  this  species  of  infantine  ele- 
phant having,  after  some  consideration,  declared  that 
he  did  not  know  any  one  game,  the  Queen  substituted 
Romanzow,  the  Russian  Ambassador.  The  Princess 
Frederica  was  exceedingly  surprised,  but  either  dared 
not,  or  would  not  make  any  remonstrances;  and  the 
Queen's  party  sitting  down  to  play,  the  Comte  d'Es- 
terno, with  great  positiveness,  energy,  and  emphasis, 
refused  to  sit  down  at  the  table  of  the  Princess;  de- 
claring he  certainly  would  not  play.  He  immediately 
withdrew. 

Everybody  blames  the  Queen  and  the  Count.  The 
first  for  having  committed  an  unexampled  blunder, 
and  the  second,  say  the  people  of  Berlin,  ought  not  to 
have  refused  the  daughter  of  the  King.  Perhaps  this 
judgment  is  severe;  though  I  own  I  should  not  myself 
have  refused;  because,  in  my  opinion,  we  should  not 
show  we  are  insulted,  except  when  we  wish  to  be  sup- 
posed insulted.  And,  as  I  think,  it  would  have  been 


very  thoughtless  to  have  taken  serious  notice  of  the 
absurd  mistake  of  a  Princess  who  is  the  most  awkward 
of  all  the  Princesses  in  Europe.  Neither  had  Comte 
d'Esterno,  rigorously  speaking,  any  greater  cause  for 
complaint  than  any  other  of  the  royal  ambassadors, 
among  whom  there  is  no  claim  of  precedency.  Per- 
haps, too,  it  would  be  imprudent  to  endeavor  to  estab- 
lish any  such  claim;  for  this  would  be  very  certainly 
to  call  that  in  question  which  tradition  and  universal 
tolerance  have  granted  to  us.  And  here  let  me  observe 
that,  as  soon  as  Lord  Dalrymple  knew  Comte  d'Es- 
terno had  been  to  complain  to  Count  Finckenstein,  he 
declared  he  made  no  demand  of  precedency  what- 
ever; but  neither  would  he  suffer  precedency  from 
anyone.  I  should,  therefore,  have  accepted  the  party 
of  the  Princess;  but  should  have  said  aloud,  and, 
pointing  to  the  table  of  the  Queen,  "  I  see  we  are  all 
here  without  distinction  of  persons;  and  certainly  for- 
tune could  not  have  been  more  favorable  to  me." 
(The  Princess  may  really  be  called  handsome.)  Had 
I  thought  I  still  owed  more  to  my  Sovereign,  I  should, 
on  the  next  Court  day,  have  refused  the  nomination  of 
the  Queen;  though  it  must  have  been  a  violent  and 
hazardous  step,  and  reparation  must  have  become  a 
public  topic;  instead  of  which  it  is  the  insult  only  that 
is  talked  of,  and  that  considerably,  in  the  world. 

Will  the  Comte  d'Esterno,  or  will  he  not,  at  present, 
accept  the  first  invitation  he  shall  receive  ?  Should  he 
comply,  it  will  remain  on  record  that,  having  resented 
the  procedure,  he  has  acknowledged  himself  second. 
Yet  how  may  he  refuse?  I  have  proposed  to  Prince 
Henry,  who  is  the  mezzo  t ermine,  that  there  should  be 
a  Court  held  by  the  Queen  Dowager,  who,  from  her 
circumspection  and  native  dignity,  is  more  respected 
than  the  reigning  Queen;  and  that  Comte  d'Esterno 
should  be  of  her  party,  with  the  Emperor's  ambassa- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      121 

dor;  which  distinction  would  be  the  more  marked  be- 
cause that  this  Queen  never  yet  played  with  foreign 
ministers.  If  her  mourning  for  her  husband  does  not 
counteract  this  project,  it  seems  to  me  the  best  under 
the  present  circumstances.  The  Queen  has  written  a 
letter  to  Count  Finckenstein,  which  must  have  been 
read  to  Comte  d'Esterno,  in  which  is  inserted  the  word 
EXCUSE,  and  wherein  she  requires  the  King  should  not 
be  informed  of  the  affair.  But  it  is  answered  the  of- 
fense was  public,  and  excuses  are  wished  to  be  kept 
secret,  since  silence  is  required. 

The  most  important  and  incontestably  certain  fact 
is,  that  there  was  no  premeditation  in  the  matter; 
that  it  was  the  silly  giddiness  of  the  Queen  in  which 
it  originated;  that  Count  Finckenstein  and  the  whole 
Court  are  vexed  at  the  affair;  that  should  the  King 
hear  of  it  he  will  be  very  much  offended  with  the 
Queen,  whom  he  has  not  seen  for  these  six  weeks,  and 
whom  he  thwarts  on  all  occasions;  that  he  has  re- 
versed all  the  arrangements,  which  in  the  rapture  of 
accession,  she  has  made  with  the  Master  of  the  House- 
hold; and  that,  in  fine,  never  had  Queen  of  Prussia, 
that  is  to  say,  the  most  insignificant  of  queens,  less  in- 
fluence. 

If,  therefore,  it  be  true,  on  the  one  part,  that  the 
place  of  every  man  in  this  world  is  that  which  he  him- 
self shall  assign  to  himself,  that  our  rank,  already 
much  on  the  decline  in  the  public  opinion,  has  no  need 
to  sink  lower,  and  that  Russian  insolence,  which  takes 
indefatigable  strides,  has  need  of  being  watched  and 
traversed,  it  is  perfectly  certain  on  the  other,  also, 
that  the  proceeding  of  Monday  was  distinct  and  un- 
meaning, which  ought  not  to  be  regarded  with  a  low- 
ering brow,  under  circumstances  which  may  lead  from 
lowering  to  cold  distance,  and  from  the  latter  to  great 
changes ;  or,  at  least,  to  decisively  false  steps,  to  which 


122      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

the  Courts  of  Vienna  and  London  are  desirous  of 
giving  birth,  and  by  which  they  will  not  fail  to 
profit. 

Such  is  my  advice,  since  I  have  had  the  honor  to 
have  this  advice  asked.  Permit  me  to  add,  that  Berlin 
is  not  any  longer  an  indifferent  embassy,  but  that  it 
is  necessary  there  to  be  active,  yet  cautious;  amiable, 
yet  dignified;  firm,  yet  pliant;  faithful,  yet  subtle;  in 
a  word,  to  unite  qualities  which  do  not  often  meet. 
M.  de  Vibraye  means  to  ask  this  embassy,  should 
Comte  d'Esterno  retire,  or  be  sent  elsewhere.  I  speak 
uninterestedly,  since  I  have  no  reason  to  presume  that, 
should  it  be  determined  to  send  me  on  an  embassy,  I 
should  begin  by  one  of  so  much  consequence ;  but  it  is 
my  duty  to  say  that  M.  de  Vibraye,  and  particularly 
his  lady,  are  not  the  proper  persons.  His  understand- 
ing is  heavy  and  confined;  rather  turbulent  than  ac- 
tive; and  timid  than  prudent.  He  is  more  the  giver 
of  dinners  than  the  representative  of  monarchy;  he 
has  neither  manners,  elocution,  nor  eyes.  Madame  de 
Vibraye,  who  does  not  want  understanding,  would  be 
too  gay  even  for  Paris,  and,  to  speak  plainly,  she  has 
little  propriety,  and  less  decency.  But  as  she  is  enter- 
prising, she  makes  pretensions  to  dignity  with  all  the 
behavior  of  thoughtlessness;  and,  as  she  molds  her 
husband  as  she  pleases,  by  suffering  him  to  believe  he 
is  absolute  master,  she  renders  him  morose,  uncivil, 
and  rule.  Besides  which,  she  sequesters  him  from  the 
world ;  and  such  sequestration  must  everywhere,  and 
particularly  at  Berlin,  be  totally  disadvantageous  to  an 
Ambassador  of  France.  This  is  one  of  the  errors  of 
Comte  d'Esterno. 

The  following  is  the  chief  intelligence  I  hear  con- 
cerning the  King  and  his  administration,  relative  either 
to  his  absence  or  his  return.  He  is  exceedingly  dis- 
satisfied with  the  Stadtholder.  It  is  affirmed  you 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      123 

ought  to  accept  the  declaration  of  Count  Goertz.  I 
repeat  incessantly,  that  this  is  the  very  time  when  our 
intentions  ought  no  longer  to  be  suspected;  since  as- 
suredly, if  we  wish  the  destruction  of  the  Stadtholder- 
ship,  the  Prince  of  Orange  has  given  us  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity. Prince  Henry  affirms  that,  provided  he  was 
restored  to  the  right  of  maintaining  order,  and  not 
of  giving  order,  at  the  Hague,  and  was  in  possession 
of  a  little  money,  the  King  would  be  contented.  I 
believe  he,  the  King,  feels  the  necessity  of  not  making 
a  false  step  at  the  beginning  of  his  political  career. 
One  fact,  I  can  assure  you,  is  certain,  which  is  that 
it  was  the  advice  of  Hertzberg  to  march  ten  thousand 
men  into  Holland ;  and  that  there  was  on  this  occasion 
a  very  wrarm  contention  between  him  and  General 
Moellendorf,  in  the  King's  presence.  By  this  you  may 
judge  of  what  is  to  be  expected  from  the  violence  of 
such  a  Minister.  Still,  however,  this  has  not 
prevented  him  from  being  created  a  Count  in 
Prussia;  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  his  influence  con- 
tinues. 

With  respect  to  domestic  affairs,  whatever  Prince 
Henry  may  say  to  the  contrary,  the  credit  of  Schulem- 
burg  is  on  the  decline ;  were  it  only  that  he  no  longer 
appears  in  the  transaction  of  public  business.  It  is, 
however,  affirmed  that  he,  with  many  others,  is  soon 
to  be  made  a  Count,  for  they  are  not  economists  of 
their  titles.  The  commission  for  the  regulation  of  the 
customs  begins  to  strike  bold  strokes;  but  they  alight 
on  individuals,  and  are  not  aimed  at  general  reforma- 
tion. Launay  has  received  information  that  the  King 
henceforth  can  give  him  only  six  thousand  crowns 
per  annum,  in  lieu  of  twenty  thousand,  the  sum  he 
before  had;  and  that  he  must  accept  this  or  resign. 
Launay,  enraged,  and  the  more  so  because  he  has  long 
since  demanded  his  dismissal,  loudly  declares  he  will 


124      MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

print  an  estimate,  which  will  prove  not  only  that,  in 
justification  of  each  of  his  acts,  he  has  a  letter  from 
the  late  King,  the  fiscal  temper  of  whom  he  has  mod- 
erated much  oftener  than  he  has  provoked,  but  that 
he  likewise  has  refused  twenty  bargains,  offered  him 
by  Frederick  II.,  which  would  have  acquired  him  tons 
of  gold.  The  scandal  of  this  estimate,  should  he  dare 
to  publish  it,  will  be  very  great ;  and  the  analyzing  of 
it  will  rather  be  a  commission  of  inquiry  into  the  con- 
duct of  the  late  King  than  of  the  present  state  of  the 
customs,  which  might  easily  have  been  foreseen  were 
thus  regulated.  The  commissioners  have  dismissed 
Roux,  the  only  able  man  among  the  collectors,  with  a 
pension  of  five  hundred  crowns ;  and  Groddard,  a  per- 
son of  insignificance,  with  a  like  sum.  They  have  be- 
stowed their  places  on  Koepke  and  Beyer,  with  a  sal- 
ary of  three  thousand  crowns,  neither  of  whom  know 
anything, — with  this  difference,  that  the  last  is  exact, 
assiduous,  and  laborious;  but  both  of  them  are  with- 
out information,  and  devoid  of  principles.  Generally 
speaking,  the  commissioners  themselves  have  none; 
nor  have  they  the  least  knowledge  of  how  they  ought 
to  act.  Commissions  here  will  all  be  the  same;  for, 
exclusive  of  the  inconveniences  that  are  annexed  to 
them  in  every  country,  there  is  in  this  the  additional 
one  that  men  of  knowledge  are  very  scarce,  and  they 
must,  therefore,  long  continue  ill-sorted.  But  the 
King  wishes  to  satisfy  some,  bestow  places  on  those 
who  have  protectors,  and  particularly  not  to  have  any 
Prime  Minister.  There  must  be  an  embargo  on  busi- 
ness while  it  remains  in  this  state;  and  I  have  many 
reasons  for  supposing  that  no  person  will,  for  some 
months  to  come,  have  found  his  true  place,  or  that 
which  he  is  destined  to  keep;  we  must  not,  therefore, 
be  in  haste  to  judge. 

But  we  may  affirm  that  the  King  has  exceedingly 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       125 

displeased  the  people, — less  in  refusing  to  partake  of 
the  festival  prepared  for  his  return  than  in  avoiding 
the  street  where  the  citizens  had  assembled  to  see  him 
pass.  "  He  treats  us  as  his  uncle  did,  on  his  return 
from  the  Seven  Years'  War,"  say  the  mob ;  "  but,  be- 
fore imitating  him  in  this,  he  ought  to  have  imitated 
the  great  actions  of  his  uncle."  It  must  be  owned 
good  sense  is  sometimes  on  the  side  of  the  multi- 
tude. 

With  respect  to  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  palace, 
anyone  may  remark  at  the  first  glance  that  they  are 
totally  in  disorder.  No  master,  no  one  to  give  direc- 
tions, no  funds  assigned;  footmen  and  the  household 
officers  govern  all.  Dufour,  or  Chauvier  (I  before 
explained  to  you  that  this  was  one  and  the  same  per- 
son), like  all  the  other  subordinate  confidants  without 
any  influence  whatever,  is  rather  ill,  than  well  treated. 
Colonel  Vartensleben,  formerly  banished  into  Prussia 
because  of  his  intimacy  with  the  hereditary  Prince,  is 
supposed  to  increase  in  favor.  But  the  two  men  to  be 
observed  are — Welner,  to  whom  it  is  affirmed  are 
communicated  all  ministerial  papers,  the  reports  on  all 
projects,  and  the  revisal  of  all  decisions;  and  Bishops- 
werder,  who,  besides  universal  suspicion,  talks  with 
too  much  affectation  of  having  no  influence  over  the 
King  not  to  betray  himself,  in  a  country  where  people 
are  not  artful  enough  to  say  they  do  not  possess  a 
thing  which  they  really  do  not  possess  in  order  that 
it  may  be  supposed  they  do. 

With  respect  to  pleasures,  they  are  improved  upon. 
One  very  remarkable  arrangement  is,  that  a  cook 
has  been  appointed  for  the  Princess  Frederica  of 
Prussia,  the  King's  daughter  by  his  first  Queen;  thus 
she  is  to  have  a  kind  of  household ;  which,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  is  nothing  more  than  a  mode,  and  none  of 
the  most  moral,  of  procuring  frequent  and  decent 


126      MEMOIRS   OF   THE   COURTS  OF 

interviews  with  Mademoiselle  Voss,  who  is  capitulat- 
ing; for  she  has  declared  that  no  hopes  of  success 
must  be  entertained  as  long  as  Madame  Rietz  shall 
continue  to  be  visited.  The  latter  went  to  meet  the 
King  on  his  return;  then,  passing  through  the  city 
with  an  arrow's  speed,  she  flew  to  Charlottenburg, 
whither  the  King  came,  and  where  she  lives.  She  acts 
the  prudent  part  of  taking  charge  herself  of  the 
pleasures  of  his  Majesty;  who  apparently  sets  a  great 
price  on  any  new  enjoyment,  be  it  of  what  kind  it 
may. 

It  is  secretly  rumored,  though  I  cannot  warrant  its 
truth,  that  England  is  prodigal  in  caresses,  and  reit- 
erated offers  of  a  treaty  of  commerce,  on  the  most 
advantageous  terms;  and  that  Russia  itself  spares  no 
advances.  Certain  it  is  that  our  enemies  and  their 
partisans  loudly  proclaim  that  we  have  lately  disbanded 
ten  thousand  men ;  which  is  sufficient  proof,  say  they, 
that  we  have  no  thoughts  of  holding  the  two  imperial 
Courts  in  awe. 

I  can  also  certify  that  the  Grand  Duke  and  the 
Grand  Duchess,  who  long  had  afforded  no  signs  of 
existence  to  Prince  Henry,  have  lately  written  him 
very  charming  letters,  but  these  are  no  impediments  to 
the  licentious  discourse  of  Romanzow,  who,  on  the  eve 
of  the  King's  funeral,  asked,  in  a  public  company, 
whether  there  would  not  be  rejoicings  on  the  morrow; 
and  who  has  bestowed  the  epithet  of  THE  ILLUMINA- 
TION OF  THE  FIVE  CANDLES  on  the  night  of  the  second, 
on  which  homage  was  paid  to  the  new  King,  and  when 
a  general  illumination  was  ordered.  Apropos  of  hom- 
age, Prince  Henry  is  permitted  to  make  written  oath, 
and  this  favor  has  not  a  little  redoubled  his  fumes; 
he  still  wagers  that  Hertzberg  will  be  disgraced.  This 
Hertzberg  yesterday  read  a  pompous  account  to  -the 
Academy  of  his  journey  into  Prussia,  and  he  was  suf- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      127 

focated  with  incense  by  all  the  candidates.     Nothing 
could  be  more  completely  silly. 

I  shall  conclude  with  a  word  concerning  Saxony.  I 
do  not  believe  the  health  of  the  Elector  to  be  good,  he 
withers  visibly;  and  this  is  promoted  by  the  violent 
exercise  which  he  takes,  from  system,  and  in  which 
he  perseveres  with  all  his  invincible  obstinacy.  He 
will  leave  no  sons,  and  there  is  no  imagining  the  hypo- 
critic  imbecility  of  his  brothers,  who  are  not  married; 
the  result  of  which  is  that  this  fine  country  is  danger- 
ously menaced  by  future  contingencies.  Marcolini,  as 
I  have  said,  is  on  his  journey  through  Italy;  and  it 
is  supposed  that  one  of  his  commissions  is  to  seek  a 
wife  for  Prince  Anthony.  Prince  Henry,  who  fears 
lest  choice  should  be  made  of  a  Tuscan  Princess,  or 
some  other  of  the  Austrian  alliances,  has  conceived 
the  project  of  bestowing  the  hand  of  the  Princess  de 
Conde  on  him,  by  which  we  should  secure  the  Elector- 
ate and  the  Elector.  I  give  this  as  I  received  it. 

FIRST  POSTSCRIPT. — Let  me  add  that,  with  respect 
to  the  map  I  determined  to  have  secretly  copied,  it  is 
the  map  of  the  most  important  part  of  Saxony;  and 
one  which  all  the  foreign  ambassadors,  without  excep- 
tion, with  M.  de  Vibraye  at  their  head,  are  convinced 
the  Elector  will  not  permit  his  brother  to  see.  I  have 
had  a  windfall  much  more  valuable, — that  of  the  land 
survey  of  1783,  made  with  great  exactitude,  and  con- 
taining a  circumstantial  division  of  territorial  wealth. 
I  shall  have  it  copied  in  haste,  for  which  I  do  not 
imagine  I  shall  be  blamed.  M.  de  Vibraye  is  quitting 
Dresden,  whither  he  does  not  wish  to  return.  It  is  a 
pleasant  post,  and  a  very  excellent  one  from  which  to 
observe  the  Emperor  and  the  King  of  Prussia. 

Boden  is  on  the  road  hither;  he  is  imagined  to  be 
presumptuous  enough  to  solicit  the  French  Embassy. 


128      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Either  he  will  be  disappointed  or  the  Court  of  Berlin 
will  act  improperly.  The  King  still  continues  in  the 
intention  of  sending-  you  Alvensleben.  I  spoke  to  you 
of  him  when  at  Dresden,  where  I  conversed  much 
with  him;  he  is  certainly  a  man  of  information  and 
understanding.  M.  d'Entragues  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  him,  and  this  friendship  has  continued. 
It  would  be  very  easy  to  send  for  M.  d'Entragues,  who 
is  at  Montpellier;  whether  it  were  to  conduct  or  to 
watch  his  entrance  on  the  scene  of  action. 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT. — Prince  Henry  was  sent  for 
by  the  King  this  morning,  on  business,  and  invited  to 
go  and  dine  at  Charlottenburg.  This  he  has  acquainted 
me  with,  and  desired  me  to  come  to  him  at  five  o'clock. 
I  can  add  nothing  to  this  enormous  length  of  cipher- 
ing, except  that  I  wish  to  repeat  that  the  intelligence 
of  the  ten  thousand  men  proposed  by  Hertzberg  is 
fact.  It  has  appeared  so  important  to  me,  when  com- 
bined with  the  affairs  of  Hattem  and  Elburg,  which 
seemed  to  give  invincible  demonstration  that  Count 
Hertzberg  had  long  promised,  in  the  secret  corre- 
spondence of  which  I  have  spoken,  the  aid  of  the  army 
of  the  new  King.  I  say  this  information  appeared 
so  important  that  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  make  it 
known  to  the  Comte  d'Esterno,  by  a  channel  which 
he  cannot  suspect  is  derived  from  me. 

\Yith  respect  to  Court  intrigues  here,  I  have  proof 
that  Prince  Henry  tells  everything  to  Prince  Ferdi- 
nand, who  tells  everything  to  his  wife,  who,  lured  by 
the  tempting  bribes  she  receives  in  ready  money,  be- 
trays Prince  Henry.  Luckily,  the  excessive  stupidity 
of  this  Princess  deadens  her  influence,  and  congeals 
the  good-will  which  the  King  wishes  to  entertain  for 
her. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      129 

LETTER    XXXI 

DRESDEN,  October  3d,  1786. 

I  HAVE  had  very  little  time  for  the  courier  of  to-day, 
having  spent  all  day  yesterday,  from  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning  till  night,  at,  and  in  the  affairs  of,  the 
Court.  The  ceremony  of  rendering  homage  was  aw- 
ful, notwithstanding  the  narrowness  of  the  place  in 
which  the  States  were  received.  As  moral  ideas  have 
a  great  influence,  even  unperceived  by  us,  on  our  phys- 
ical sensations,  this  tribute  of  respect,  paid  by  armed 
despotism  to  the  nation  it  governs,  this  species  of 
paternal  colloquy  between  the  Monarch  and  the  depu- 
ties, here  called  the  States,  establishing  in  some  man- 
ner a  correlative  engagement, — to  which  only  a  little 
more  dignity  on  the  part  of  the  deputies,  and  at  least 
the  appearance  of  deliberation,  are  wanting  to  give 
pleasure  to  the  heart, — fill  the  mind  with  sublime  and 
affecting  reveries.  To  a  Prince  capable  of  reflection, 
I  would  only  wish  this  ceremony  to  be  contrasted  with 
the  military  oath,  and  the  different  emotions  they  ex- 
cite to  be  analyzed,  in  order  to  lead  him  to  examine 
whether  it  be  true  that  a  monarchy  depends  wholly 
upon  force,  and  whether  the  pyramid  ought  to  rest 
upon  its  basis  or  upon  its  point. 

After  the  discourse  of  the  Minister  of  Justice 
(Reek)  to  the  States,  after  the  harangue  of  the  first 
order  (the  ecclesiastics),  conducted  by  Prince  Fred- 
erick of  Brunswick,  Provost  of  the  Chapter  of  Bran- 
denburg, and  after  the  oath  of  the  nobility,  the  declara- 
tion and  confirmation  of  privileges,  the  enumeration 
of  titles  to  be  bestowed,  made  by  the  Minister  Hertz- 
berg  (the  Minister  Schulemburg  is  one  among  the 
number  of  new  Counts),  the  King  advanced,  on  a  pro- 
jecting balcony,  over  which  a  very  fine  canopy  had 


130      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

been  raised,  to  receive  the  oaths  and  the  homage  of 
the  people.  The  citizens  were  assembled,  by  com- 
panies, wards,  and  trades,  in  the  square  opposite  the 
palace.  The  symptoms  of  tumultuous  joy  are  here,  as 
elsewhere,  the  effects  of  sympathy  (I  had  almost  said 
contagious)  between  a  great  multitude  of  men,  assem- 
bled to  behold  one  elevated  superior  to  them  all,  whom 
they  called  their  Monarch  and  their  Majesty,  and  on 
whom,  in  reality,  depends  the  greatest  part  of  the  bless- 
ings or  the  woes  that  await  them. 

It  must,  however,  be  remarked  that  the  order  was 
much  greater  all  the  day,  and  at  night,  than  could 
have  been  hoped  in  any  other  large  metropolis.  It  is 
true  that  they  distribute  here  neither  wine,  cervclats, 
nor  money.  The  largesses  are  distributed  to  each 
quarter,  and  pass  through  the  hands  of  the  pastor  and 
the  magistrate.  It  is  equally  true  that  the  passions  of 
this  are  scarcely  so  strong  as  the  emotions  of  other 
nations. 

The  King  dined  upward  of  six  hundred  people.  All 
who  were  noble  were  invited.  When  the  proposal  was 
made  to  me  to  remain,  I  replied  that,  apparently,  only 
the  national  nobility  was  meant ;  and  that,  had  it  been 
intended  to  admit  foreigners  to  that  favor,  they  no 
doubt  would  have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  such  an 
intimation.  All  the  English,  and  almost  all  the  French, 
like  me,  and  with  me,  retired. 

The  illuminations  were  not  very  great.  One  was  re- 
marked where  all  the  small  lamps  were  covered  over 
by  crape,  so  that  the  light  appeared  dim,  gloomy,  and 
truly  funereal.  This  was  the  invention  of  a  Jew,  and 
it  was  in  the  front  of  his  own  house  that  it  took  place. 
It  calls  to  my  mind  a  beautiful  passage  in  the  sermon 
which  preceded  the  ceremony,  and  which  \vas  preached 
in  the  Lutheran  church.  The  minister  of  the  prevail- 
ing religion  long  invoked,  and  with  considerable  pa- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      131 

thos  and  energy,  the  blessings  of  toleration, — "  That 
happy  and  holy  harvest,  for  which  the  Prussian  prov- 
inces are  indebted  to  the  family  by  which  they  are 
governed." 

I  send  you  the  best  medals  that  were  struck  on  the 
occasion.  They  are  your  own.  Others  are  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  foreign  ambassadors,  who,  no 
doubt,  will  send  them  home.  There  are  some  in  gold, 
but  I  thought  them  too  dear,  the  workmanship  con- 
sidered. Each  general  in  the  service  was  presented 
with  a  large  medal,  the  price  of  which  is  forty  crowns. 
Each  commander  of  a  regiment  received  a  small  one, 
of  the  price  of  six  ducats.  The  large  are  good,  the 
small  very  indifferent.  I  speak  of  those  that  were 
distributed  yesterday;  and  only  of  the  likeness. 

October  4th,    1786. 

THE  day  of  homage  and  its  preparations  have  wholly 
consumed  the  time,  and  obstructed  all  society,  since 
the  last  courier;  for  which  reason  I  have  at  present 
little  to  say.  Prince  Henry  was  invited,  the  other  day, 
principally,  as  I  believe,  let  him  say  what  he  will,  be- 
cause M.  de  Custine,  the  father,  dined  with  the  King. 
However,  his  Majesty,  before  dinner,  spoke  to  the 
Prince  concerning  Holland,  and  complained  that  the 
discourse  of  M.  de  Veyrac,  who  had  informed  Goertz 
he  could  not  interfere,  was  in  exact  contradiction  to 
the  promises  of  the  Cabinet  of  Versailles.  The  sub- 
ject of  Holland  puts  him  out  of  temper,  as  it  naturally 
must ;  and  yet,  as  I  have  incessantly  repeated,  "  When 
could  we  find  a  better  opportunity  of  acting  disinter- 
estedly than  at  present;  now  that  the  Stadtholder, 
contrary  to  reason  and  all  propriety,  has  taken  a  vio- 
lent and  decisive  part,  a  few  days  before  the  arrival 
of  the  advice  which  was  intended  to  be  sent  him  by 
the  King?" 

5 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


132 

I  have  had  a  very  impassioned  scene,  concerning 
Holland,  with  Count  Hertzberg:  patience,  firmness, 
and  something  of  cunning,  on  my  part;  violence,  pas- 
sion, and  want  of  reason,  on  his.  It  is  evident  to  me 
that  he  is  pursuing  some  secret  project  concerning 
Holland. 

Apropos  of  M.  de  Custine;  he  made  the  King  wait 
an  hour  for  him  at  dinner.  It  is  a  melancholy  circum- 
stance for  France  that  she  should  continually  be,  in 
some  measure,  represented  by  certain  travelers,  when 
political  affairs  are  in  a  delicate  state.  Our  Due  de  la 

F ,  amid  an  assembly  of  our  enemies,  said  to  the 

Duke  of  Brunswick,  "  Apropos ;  pray  has  your  High- 
ness ever  served  ?  "  At  Dresden,  a  ceremonious  and 
circumspect  place,  where  our  embassy  has  given  much 
dissatisfaction,  this  same  pitiable  interrogator,  having 
been  shown  a  collection  of  precious  stones,  the  most 
magnificent  that  exists  in  Europe,  said  to  the  Elector 
at  high  dinner,  "  Very  good !  Yes,  indeed,  very  good ! 
Pray  how  much  did  the  collection  cost  your  High- 
ness ?  "  A  certain  M.  de  P ,  a  week  before  the 

death  of  the  King,  dining  at  Potsdam  with  the  Prince 
of  Prussia,  hearing  the  name  of  M.  de  H men- 
tioned, exclaimed,  "  Apropos ;  I  forgot  that  I  have  a 
letter  from  him,  which  I  am  to  give  you."  And  this 
letter  he  threw  to  the  Prince  across  the  table.  He  no 
doubt  imagined  such  familiarity  was  exceedingly 
natural — he  who,  at  Prague,  taking  leave  of  the  Em- 
peror, seized  and  shook  him  by  the  hand,  testifying 
the  great  satisfaction  he  had  received  at  having  seen 
his  manoeuvres,  and  renewed  his  acquaintance  with 

him.    And,  what  is  better,  it  is  M.  de who  relates 

this  anecdote  here;  which  there  are  Englishmen 
enough  would  take  care  should  not  have  been  forgot- 
ten, had  he  not  with  so  much  precaution  treasured  it 
up  in  his  memory.  Wherefore  permit  such  people  to 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      133 

travel,  whom,  by  means  of  the  places  they  enjoy,  it  is 
easy  to  detain  at  home  ?  There  is  no  possibility  of  ex- 
aggerating the  evil  which  such  ridiculous  pasquinades 
produce,  at  a  moment  when  the  ill-designing-  are  so 
numerous,  and  who  wish  that  the  nation  should  be 
judged  by  such  specimens. 

Suffer  me  further  to  remark,  of  Messieurs  de  Cus- 
tine,  that,  foolish  as  the  father  is,  physically  a  fool,  a 
fool  unmeasurable  and  disgusting,  equally  is  the  son 
a  man  of  great  hopes,  and  appears  in  all  companies 
with  universal  success.  Not  any  man  so  young,  with 
whom  I  am  acquainted,  unites  so  much  modesty,  so 
much  reason,  and  such  decent  timidity,  to  so  great  a 
talent  for  observation,  or  to  manners  so  agreeable  and 
mild,  so  much  caution  and  wise  activity.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  that  the  extravagances  of  the  father  display 
these  qualities  to  advantage  in  the  son,  but  they  exist, 
and  on  the  most  solid  basis,  for,  in  all  probability,  he 
he  has  taken  an  aversion  for,  by  being  a  continual  spec- 
tator of,  the  follies  of  his  father.  He  is  a  scion  who, 
of  all  the  young  men  I  have  known,  is  most  proper 
to  be  transplanted  into  the  diplomatic  nursery. 

The  King,  all  yesterday,  was  cold  and  taciturn;  not 
an  emotion,  not  a  gracious  word,  not  a  smile.  The 
Minister  Reek,  who  harangued  the  States  in  the  name 
of  the  Sovereign,  promised,  in  his  discourse,  that  no 
new  tax  should  be  imposed  during  the  present  reign, 
but  that,  on  the  contrary,  those  that  existed  should  be 
diminished.  Was  he  commanded  to  make  this  prom- 
ise, or  did  he  venture  to  make  it  uncommanded?  Of 
this  I  am  ignorant,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  doubt. 

The  day  before  yesterday,  the  King  had  some  do- 
mestic brawls  and  a  scene  of  jealousy,  at  Charlotten- 
burg,  to  support  from  Madame  Rietz.  The  remem- 
brance perhaps  remained  with  him  yesterday ;  whether 
or  no,  the  discourse  of  his  Minister  of  Justice  spoke 


134      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS   OF 

more  pleasingly  than  his  countenance,  however  agree- 
able it  may  in  reality  be.  He  is  to  depart  on  the  fourth 
for  Silesia,  and  does  not  return  till  the  seventeenth. 

A  part  of  the  palace  is  at  present  furnishing,  but  in 
a  simple  style. 

Public  notice  has  been  given  that  those  persons  who 
had  been  promised  reversions  of  fiefs  should  appear, 
that  their  reversions  were  annulled,  and  that  they  were 
not  allowed  to  solicit  till  first  there  should  be  a  vacant 
fief,  and  not  for  the  reversion  of  fiefs. 

I  have  seen  a  narrative  of  what  passed  in  Prussia. 
The  person  who  wrote  it  has  employed  very  sounding 
expressions  to  depict  the  enthusiasm  of  the  public, 
and  among  them,  the  following  phrase  of  the  King : 
"  I  have  found  Prussia  very  ill,  but  I  will  cure 
her." 

Count  Katzerling,  who  had  suffered  great  losses 
during  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  met  with  very  ill 
treatment  from  the  late  Monarch,  after  having  been 
very  graciously  received  by  him,  had  accepted  a  loan 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  crowns,  for  thirty 
years,  without  interest. 

It  is  said  the  Bishop  of  Warmia  will  be  here  within 
three  weeks.  He  is  a  very  amiable  man,  with  the 
levity  of  a  Pole,  and  was  much  in  the  favor  of  the 
Prince  of  Prussia.  The  King  seems  to  remember 
this;  he  has  been  treated  with  much  greater  kindness 
than  any  other  person  in  Prussia. 

In  November,  the  King  is  to  balance  the  statements 
of  expense  and  receipt. 

FIRST  POSTSCRIPT. — I  forgot  to  inform  you  that, 
for  so  cloudy  a  day.  Prince  Henry  was  yesterday 
highly  caressed.  He  dined  and  supped  with  his  Maj- 
esty, and  singly  attended  him  to  see  the  illuminations. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      135 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT. — I  return  from  Court,  the 
Ambassadors  were  mingled  promiscuously,  but,  as  the 
Ministers  of  the  two  Imperial  Courts  were  together, 
the  King  proceeded  in  rather  a  singularly  retrograde 
manner.  It  so  happened  (because  of  the  number  of 
Englishmen  that  were  to  be  presented)  that  Lord 
Dalrymple  was  the  nearest  to  the  King's  door,  and 
preceded  the  Imperial  Ambassadors.  The  King  be- 
gan with  the  latter.  He  then  returned  to  Lord  Dal- 
rymple, after  which  he  descended  much  lower  toward 
Comte  d'Esterno,  and  spoke  no  further  to  him  than 
by  thanking,  in  general,  the  foreign  Ambassadors  for 
their  illuminations.  Should  this  neglect  of  customary 
forms  continue,  I  think  it  would  be  right  to  let  it  be 
understood  that  it  gives  displeasure,  for  the  rumor  of 
the  hatred  of  the  King  for  the  French  is  daily 
strengthened,  and  rumor,  sometimes,  in  reality  pro- 
duces the  event  it  proclaims. 


LETTER    XXXII 

DRESDEN,  October  4th,  1786. 

IT  APPEARS  extremely  probable  that  habit  will  be  the 
conqueror,  and  that  Frederick  Wililam  will  never 
be  more  than  what  his  penetrating  uncle  had  fore- 
boded. No  terms  are  too  hyperbolical  to  express  the 
excessive  negligence  of  his  domestic  affairs,  their  dis- 
order, and  his  waste  of  time.  The  valets  dread  his 
violence ;  but  they  are  the  first  to  turn  his  incapacity 
to  derision.  Not  a  paper  in  its  place;  not  a  word 
written  at  the  bottom  of  any  of  the  memorials;  not  a 
letter  personally  opened;  no  human  power  could  in- 
duce him  to  read  forty  lines  together.  It  is  at  once 
the  tumult  of  vehemence  and  the  torpor  of  inanity. 


136      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

His  natural  son,  the  Count  of  Brandenburg,  is  the 
only  one  who  can  rouse  him  from  his  lethargy;  he 
loves  the  boy  to  adoration.  His  countenance  brightens 
the  moment  he  appears,  and  he  amuses  himself,  every 
morning,  a  considerable  time  with  this  child,  and  this, 
even  of  his  pleasures,  is  the  only  one  in  which  he  is 
regular;  for  the  remaining  hours  are  wasted  in  inex- 
plicable confusion.  His  ill  humor  the  other  day,  for 
example,  which  I  had  supposed  was  occasioned  by  the 
quarrel  at  Charlottenburg,  induced  me  to  inquire  into 
particulars.  It  was  nothing  more  than  a  musical  dis- 
pute. The  King  would  have  a  chamber  concert.  He 
ordered  two-and-twenty  musicians  to  be  assembled. 
It  was  his  intention  to  have  performed  himself;  fris 
violoncello  was  uncased  and  tuned.  Fourteen  musi- 
cians only  came;  and  passions,  threats,  intemperance 
succeeded.  The  valets  de  chambre  laid  the  blame  on 
Kalikan,  whose  business  it  was  to  summon  the  musi- 
cians. Kalikan  was  thrown  into  prison.  Duport,  the 
famous  violoncello  player,  and  consequently  the  fa- 
vorite musician,  came  to  the  aid  of  Kalikan,  and  gave 
the  King  the  letter  which  the  valets  de  chambre  had 
intercepted.  His  choler  then  became  outrageous; 
everybody  fled,  but  no  further  effects  have  followed 
this  subaltern  prevarication.  Poor  King!  Poor  coun- 
try! 

I  am  persuaded  by  two  particulars :  the  one,  that  his 
Majesty  has  conceived  the  idea  and  the  hope  of  be- 
coming a  great  man,  by  making  himself  wholly  and 
purely  German,  and  by  hectoring  French  superiority; 
the  other,  that  he  is  already  in  his  heart  determined  to 
resign  business  to  a  principal  Minister.  He  has  not, 
perhaps,  yet  owned  the  fact  to  himself;  but  at  least  he 
is  inwardly  convinced  it  must  be  so.  In  this  case  his 
last  resource  will  be  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  or  of  MY  UNCLE. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       137 

The  first  of  these  plans  is  the  work  and  the  master- 
piece of  Count  Hertzberg.  He  has  said,  and  justly 
said :  "  There  is  only  one  mode  of  acquiring  reputa- 
tion; which  is  to  impart  an  impulse  to  your  nation, 
that  under  your  reign  a  new  kind  of  glory  may  take 
date.  This  impulse  you  can  only  give  by  acting  de- 
terminately.  What  can  you  ever  effect  as  the  par- 
tisan of  France?  You  can  only  be  the  feeble  imitator 
of  Frederick  II.  As  a  German  you  will  be  an  original, 
personally  revered  throughout  Germany,  adored  by 
your  people,  vaunted  by  men  of  letters,  respected  by 
Europe,  etc.,  etc."  The  explication  of  the  enigma  is, 
that  Count  Hertzberg  imagined  this  to  be  the  shortest 
road  to  make  himself  Prime  Minister. 

But  the  necessities  of  accident  demand,  or  will  soon 
demand,  a  different  person.  Servile  as  the  country 
is,  it  is  not  habituated  to  ministerial  slavery;  and 
Hertzberg,  long  a  subaltern,  rather  crafty  than  able, 
deceitful  than  cunning,  violent  than  determined,  vain 
than  ambitious,  old,  infirm,  and  not  promising  any 
long  duration  of  life,  will  not  bend  the  people  to  this 
servility.  They  must  have  (though  this  Welner,  who 
is  so  much  attended  to  at  present,  and  whose  influence 
near  spectators  only  can  discover,  may  push  his  pre- 
tensions), I  repeat,  they  must  have  a  man  whose  rank 
can  quell  subordinate  candidates;  and  the  number  of 
such  men  is  not  great.  I  can  discover  but  two  men  of 
this  kind, — Prince  Henry  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick. 
To  the  disadvantage  of  not  living  in  the  country,  the 
latter  adds  that  of  being  necessarily  formidable  to  a 
feeble  and  indolent,  but  vain  and  jealous,  Prince; 
who  may  imagine  that  Prince  Henry  will  not  commit 
the  same  injury  on  his,  the  Sovereign's,  reputation  as 
a  Prince  who  cannot  leave  his  own  country,  and  re- 
side here  constantly  as  Prime  Minister,  without  being 
undoubtedly  and  conspicuously  such.  For  which  rea- 


138      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

son  the  credit  of  Prince  Henry  daily  strengthens,  in 
spite  of  his  ill  address.  However,  he  has  boasted  less 
within  some  few  weeks;  and,  instead  of  not  returning 
from  Rheinsberg,  whither  he  again  goes  during  the 
absence  of  the  King,  till  the  middle  of  December,  as 
was  his  intention,  he  will  be  here  on  the  same  day  as 
his  nephew. 

Yet,  exclusive  of  the  personal  defects  of  Prince 
Henry,  and  the  errors  of  which  he  will  indubitably  be 
guilty,  how  shall  we  reconcile  the  German  system  and 
the  Monarch's  hatred  of  the  French  to  the  confidence 
granted  this  Prince?  The  symptoms  of  such  hatred, 
whether  systematic  or  natural,  continually  increase 
and  correspond.  The  King,  when  he  dismissed  Roux 

and  Groddart,  said:  "Voila  done  dc  ccs  B dont 

je  me  suis  dcfait."  The  real  crime  of  Roux,  perhaps, 
was  that  he  kept  a  Jewess  whom  the  Prince  of  Russia 
wished  to  possess,  and  obstinately  refused  to  listen  to 
any  kind  of  accommodation.  A  French  merchant 
brought  some  toys  to  show  him,  to  whom  he  harshly  re- 
plied :  "I  have  baubles  already  of  this  kind  to  the 
amount  of  seven  millions."  He  then  turned  his  back, 
and  did  not  utter  another  word,  except  to  bid  him 
not  go  to  the  Queen,  for  if  he  did,  he  should  not  be 
paid.  The  action  was  far  from  blamable;  it  is  the 
manner  only  that  I  notice.  Boden  was  passably  well 
received,  except  that  the  only  consolation  he  found  for 
his  fever  was,  "Go  to  Berlin,  and  keep  yourself  quiet, 
for  you  have  a  companion  that  will  stay  by  you  these 
three  months."  Boden  said  to  him,  "I  should  have  had 
thousands  of  messages  to  your  Majesty,  had  I  dared 
to  take  charge  of  them."  "You  did  well  to  refuse," 
replied  the  King;  and  in  so  rough  a  tone  that  Boden 
dared  not  even  given  him  the  letters  of  Dusaulx  and 
Bitaube. 

Launay   is   treated   with   severity,   and   even   with 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       139 

tyranny.  He  was  confined  to  his  chamber  while  his 
papers  were  examined,  independent  of  a  general  pro- 
hibition not  to  leave  Berlin.  One  Delatre,  his  personal 
enemy,  has  been  opposed  to  him  on  all  occasions,  and 
has  been  sent  for  to  become  an  informer  against  him, 
—a  man  devoid  of  faith  or  honor;  suspected  of  great 
crimes;  a  dissipator  of  the  King's  money;  an  unbridled 
libelist,  and  as  such  denounced  by. our  Court  to  that  of 
Berlin,  which  officially  returned  thanks,  two  years 
ago,  for  our  behavior  on  that  subject.  I  say  he  was 
sent  for;  because  owing,  as  he  does,  eighty  thousand 
crowns  to  the  King,  would  he  have  ventured  to  come 
without  a  passport,  or  being  asked  ?  It  is  evident  that 
Launay  is  persecuted  as  a  farmer  of  the  taxes,  and  as 
a  Frenchman. 

It  is  believed  that  the  collectors  and  farmers-general 
will  all  be  dismissed  at  the  festival  of  the  Trinity,  the 
time  when  those  accounts  that  shall  actually  be  settled 
are  to  be  examined.  This  is  the  grand  sacrifice  that 
is  to  offered  up  to  the  nation.  But  what  is  to  supply 
the  deficiency  in  the  revenue?  For  in  fine,  the  farmers, 
last  year,  paid  six  millions  eight  hundred  thousand 
German  crowns;  and  it  is  not  only  impossible  to  re- 
place this  immense  sum,  but,  knowing  the  country,  it 
is  easy  to  foresee  that  the  German  farmers  of  finance 
will  scarcely  collect  the  half  of  the  amount. 

Of  what  will  the  convocation  of  the  provincial  and 
finance  counselors,  and  the  deputies  of  the  merchants, 
be  productive?  Of  complaints,  and  not  one  project 
which  will  not  be  distinct,  partial,  and  in  contradic- 
tion to  the  general  system, — or  such  as  the  nature  of 
things  presents  as  a  system;  for  in  reality  not  any  as 
yet  exists. 

I  return,  and  say,  all  these  projects  are  contrary  to 
the  personal  hopes  of  Prince  Henry.  Will  he  make  all 
his  passions  subservient  to  his  ambition?  (He  is  far 


140      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

from  possessing  that  degree  of  fortitude.)  Or,  does 
he  dissemble  that  he  may  obtain  power?  Of  this  I 
do  not  believe  him  uniformly  capable.  I  rather  fear 
he  is  once  again  the  dupe  of  caresses;  which,  however, 
it  must  be  confessed,  are  more  substantial  and  more 
marked  than  they  ever  had  been  before.  I  particularly 
fear  he  should  be  in  too  great  haste,  and  too  eager  to 
gather  the  harvest  before  it  be  ripe;  neglecting  the 
care  of  providing  seed  for  futurity. 

The  King  has  given  the  Minister  of  Justice,  Reek, 
a  box  of  petrified  shells,  splendidly  enriched  with  dia- 
monds, estimated  to  be  worth  twelve  thousand  crowns ; 
a  similar  box  to  the  Minister  Gaucli,  and  ten  thousand 
crowns;  another  of  the  same  kind  to  General  Moellen- 
dorf ;  a  fine  solitaire  to  the  Marquis  di  Luchesini;  and 
a  diamond  ring  to  Philippi,  the  lieutenant  of  the  police. 
He  has  further  broken  up  three  boxes  set  with  dia- 
monds, of  which  thirty  rings  have  been  made;  these 
he  has  taken  with  him  to  distribute  in  Silesia. 

Take  good  note,  that  Launay  has  not  had  the  alter- 
native of  accepting  a  salary  of  six  thousand  crowns,  or 
his  dismission;  he  has  merely  received  information, 
under  the  form  of  an  order,  that  his  salary  was  re- 
duced to  six  thousand  crowns. 

Count  Hertzberg  this  day  gave  a  grand  dinner  to 
foreigners,  to  which  the  new  Spanish  Ambassador  was 
invited,  but  neither  Comte  d'Esterno  nor  any  French- 
man; which  affectation  was  the  more  remarkable 
since  all  the  English,  Piedmontese,  Swedish,  and  not 
only  foreign  Ambassadors  but  complimentary  envoys, 
were  there  assembled.  Comte  d'Esterno  takes  a 
proper  revenge;  he  gives  a  grand  dinner  to-morrow, 
to  which  Count  Hertzberg  is  invited. 

POSTSCRIPT. — Mr.  Ewart,  the  secretary  of  the 
English  Embassy,  said  to  me  yesterday,  in  the  presence 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      141 

of  fifteen  people,  Count  Hertzberg  supporting  him 
with  voice  and  gesture,  in  these  precise  terms,  "The 
Stadtholder  is,  by  the  constitution,  the  executive 
power  in  Holland;  or  to  speak  more  intelligibly,  he  is 
precisely  in  Holland  what  the  King  is  in  England." 
I  replied,  in  the  most  ironical  and  dry  tone,  "It  is  to  be 
hoped  he  will  not  be  beheaded  by  his  subjects."  The 
laughers  were  not  with  Mr.  Ewart. 

Boden  has  sent  your  packets.  The  extracts  from 
the  pleadings  of  Linguet,  which  are  excellent  (I  speak 
of  the  extracts),  have  been  perfectly  successful.  I 
entreat  you  will  not  fail  to  send  me  the  continuation. 
You  cannot  find  a  better  means  of  procuring  me 
customers  than  by  things  of  this  kind. 

There  is  a  demur  concerning  Alvensleben.  It  is 
Hertzberg  who  supports  Goltz. 

Number  LXXVIII.  of  the  "Courier  of  the  Lower 
Rhine"  is  so  insolent,  relative  to  the  King  of  France 
and  his  Ambassador,  that  I  imagine  it  would  be  proper 
to  make  a  formal  complaint.  This  might  somewhat 
curb  Hertzberg,  who  is  the  accomplice  of  Manson, 
and  who  may  do  us  many  other  favors  of  a  like  nature, 
should  this  pass  with  impunity.  You  are  not  aware 
of  the  influence  these  gazettes  have  in  Germany. 


LETTER  XXXIII 

MAGDEBURG,  October  gth,  1786. 

LEAVING  Berlin,  I  by  chance  discovered  the  person 
who  has  remained  four  days  shut  up  in  the  apartment 
of  the  Prince  of  Hesse  (of  Rothembourg) ,  who  is 
no  other  than  that  Croisy,  formerly  St.  Huberty,  and 
once  the  husband  of  our  celebrated  St.  Huberty,  whose 
marriage  was  annulled,  Counselor  Bonneau  of  the 
Prince  of  Prussia,  and  relative  to  his  own  wife  a  bank- 


142      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

rupt,  a  forger, — in  a  word,  a  knight  of  industry,  of  the 
most  despicable  order,  and  concerning  \vhom.  all  for- 
eigners ask,  "Is  it  possible  such  a  man  can  be  an  officer 
in  the  French  service?"  I  am  no  longer  astonished 
that  the  Prince  of  Hesse  should  be  coldly  received  by 
the  King.  To  come  expressly  to  lay  the  train  to 
the  mine  of  corruption;  and  to  depend  upon  it 
as  a  certainty  that  the  combustibles  should  catch 
fire,  from  a  knowledge  of  the  errors  of  the  Sov- 
ereign; to  found  hopes  of  success  on  the  ill 
opinion  we  have  of  him,  and  in  a  manner  to  pro- 
claim this  knowledge,  by  a  rapid  journey  from  Paris 
to  Berlin,  destitute  of  all  other  pretext,  since  the  Prince 
of  Hesse  and  his  minion  have  stayed  only  five  days, 
and  are  already  gone  back  to  Paris, — this  is  at  once  to 
display  foolish  cunning  and  contemptible  conduct.  I 
imagine  it  is  of  importance  that  we  should  tell  the 
King  aloud,  and  with  the  strongly  marked,  ironical 
tone  of  disdain,  which  shall  make  him  feel,  without 
debasing  ourselves  to  speak  more  openly,  that  this 
manoeuvre  was  totally  unknown  to  our  Cabinet;  for  I 
am  persuaded,  from  some  half-phrases  which  I  have 
heard  those  who  wish  us  ill  drop,  that  they  do  not 
desire  anything  better  than  to  fix  this  blot  upon  us. 

I  have  traveled  through  Brandenburg  to  Magdeburg 
with  Count  Hatzfeldt,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  Elec- 
tor of  Mayence  to  compliment  the  King  on  his  acces- 
sion, and  Baron  Geilling,  sent  for  the  same  purpose 
by  the  Due  de  Deux-Ponts.  The  latter,  formerly  a 
captain  of  hussars  in  our  service,  is  a  handsome  block- 
head, who  could  only  have  been  chosen  because  he  is 
the  brother  of  Madame  Eixbeck,  the  Duke's  mistress. 
Count  Hatzfeldt  is  a  man  of  great  urbanity,  and 
whose  knowledge  and  understanding  are  deserving 
of  esteem.  It  seems  he  will  remain  some  time  at 
Berlin,  that  he  may  discover  what  shall  be  created  out 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      143 

of  the  chaos.  I  conversed  much  on  Mayence;  the 
Elector  is  better,  but  does  not  promise  any  length  of 
life.  The  two  persons  who,  in  all  appearance,  are 
most  likely  to  succeed  him  are  Feckenberg  and  Alberg. 
The  first  is  wholly  Austrian,  the  latter  a  man  of  abili- 
ties, of  whom  the  highest  opinion  is  entertained,  whose 
political  inclinations  are  little  known,  and  who  dissem- 
bles, like  Sixtus  V.,  while  yet  a  monk. 

That  Court  at  present  seems  to  be  exceedingly 
averse  to  the  Emperor,  who  every  day,  indeed,  by  a 
multitude  of  traits,  both  private  and  public,  and  which 
are  really  inconceivable,  increases  universal  hatred.  It 
is  impossible  to  depict  the  effect  which  his  answer  to 
the  request  of  the  Hungarians  produced — (Pueri  snnt 
pueri:  pueri  pucrilia  tractant} — together  with  the  vio- 
lent abolition  of  all  their  privileges.  But,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  great  landholders  are  at  Vienna,  there  en- 
chained by  their  places,  and  almost  kept  under  a 
guard,  so  that  they  are  in  truth  the  hostages  of  the 
slavery  of  the  Hungarians;  and,  on  the  other,  the 
aristocracy  being  excessively  odious  to  the  people, 
there  is  in  this  superb  and  formidable  country  neither 
unity  of  interest,  nor  center  of  concord.  The  regular 
troops  are,  besides,  posted,  and  provided  with  artillery, 
supported  by  veterans,  colonists,  etc.,  etc. 

An  Englishman,  very  much  my  friend,  and  a  man 
of  excellent  observation,  whom  I  have  happened  to 
meet  with  here,  and  who  has  visited  all  the  camps  of 
the  Emperor,  while  speaking  in  raptures  of  those 
formidable  pillars  of  his  power,  Hungary,  Moravia, 
Bohemia,  Galicia,  etc.,  confesses  that  the  inferiority  of 
his  troops,  compared  with  the  Prussian  army,  has 
infinitely  surpassed  his  expectation.  He  affirms  it  is 
impossible,  either  relative  to  the  individual  or  collec- 
tive information  of  the  officers  or  to  the  military  talents 
of  the  Emperor,  which  are  in  reality  null,  insomuch  that 


144      MEMOIRS   OF   THE   COURTS   OF 

he  appears  incapable  of  conceiving  such  complicated 
evolutions, — he  affirms,  I  say,  it  is  impossible  to  com- 
pare the  two  nations :  with  this  difference,  that  the 
Emperor,  like  Cadmus,  can  make  men  spring  out  of 
the  earth;  and  that  the  Prussian  army,  once  annihi- 
lated, will  be  incapable  of  renovation,  except  from  its 
treasury.  Should  A  MAN  once  be  seated  upon  the 
Austrian  throne,  there  will  be  an  end  to  the  liberties 
of  Europe.  The  health  of  the  Emperor  is  supposed 
not  to  be  good ;  his  activity  gradually  decreases ;  he 
still,  however,  surpasses  his  real  strength,  but  his  pro- 
jects seem  like  the  wishes  of  an  expiring  patient  who 
raves  on  recovery.  He  is  supposed  at  present  to  be 
on  very  cool  terms  with  the  Empress  of  Russia. 


LETTER  XXXIV 

BRUNSWICK,  October  itfh,  1786. 

THOUGH  I  ride  post,  you  perceive  it  is  not  in  the 
spirit  of  dissipation.  Alas!  what  mode  of  life  in 
reality  less  corresponds  with  my  natural  inclination 
than  that  indolent  activity,  if  so  I  may  call  it,  which 
hurries  me  into  every  tumult,  and  among  the  proud 
and  fastidious,  to  the  utter  loss  of  time!  For  such  is 
the  general  consequence  of  the  confusion  of  society 
among  the  Germans,  who  converse  as  they  call  it 
AMONG  THEMSELVES  although  thirty  persons  should  be 
present.  Thus  am  I  robbed  of  study,  deprived  of  my 
favorite  pursuits,  my  own  thoughts,  and  forced  inces- 
santly to  comply  with  forms  so  foreign,  not  to  say 
odious,  to  my  nature.  You  yourself,  who  lead  a  life 
so  full  of  hurry,  but  who,  however,  associate  with  the 
chosen  few,  in  despite  of  all  the  gifts  of  nature,  you 
must  feel  how  difficult  it  is  abruptly  to  pass  from  the 
buzz  of  men  to  the  meditations  of  the  closet.  Yet  is 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      145 

this  indispensably  necessary,  in  order  to  manage  the 
ASIDE  speeches,  by  which  the  current  news  of  the  day 
is  acquired  and  consequences  are  divined.  We  must 
gallop  five  days  with  the  Prince,  and  pursue  all  the 
physical  and  moral  meanderings  of  the  man,  in  public 
and  in  private,  before  we  can  obtain  the  right,  or  the 
opportunity,  to  ask  him  a  question;  or,  which  is  bet- 
ter, to  catch  a  word,  which  may  be  equivalent  both  to 
question  and  answer. 

But  who  knows  this  better  than  you?  I  only  wish 
you  to  understand  my  excursions  are  not  the  effect 
of  chance,  and  still  less  of  whim.  Let  me  add  that 
each  of  my  journeys  improves  my  local  knowledge,  a 
subject  on  which  I  have  made  it  a  law  not  to  be  easily 
satisfied.  I  hope  that,  among  others,  you  will  perceive 
by  my  memorial  on  Saxony,  and  by  that  on  the  Prus- 
sian States,  which  are,  in  reality,  works  of  labor,  and 
which  you  will  not  have  a  sight  of  for  months  to  come, 
that  I  have  profoundly  studied  the  countries  which  I 
wished  to  understand,  and  as  ardently  in  men  as  in 
books;  with  this  difference,  however,  that  I  scarcely 
dare  confide  in  the  mere  assertion  of  the  best-informed 
man,  unless  he  brings  written  proofs.  The  necessity 
of  that  species  of  superstitious  conscientiousness,  with 
which  I  am  almost  mechanically  impressed,  whenever 
I  take  up  the  pen,  has  been  demonstrated  to  my  own 
mind  too  often  for  it  ever  to  forsake  me. 

Yet  whither  am  I  traveling  in  this  painful  road?  If 
I  may  depend  on  the  few  reports  which  your  friend- 
ship has  deigned  to  make  me  of  the  sensation  which 
my  dispatches  have  produced,  when  corrected,  ar- 
ranged, and  embellished  by  you  (for  how  is  it  possible 
for  me  to  correct  that  which  I  write  at  the  moment, 
by  snatches,  with  lightning-like  rapidity,  and  without 
having  time  to  read?),  they  have  given  satisfaction. 
If  I  judge  by  the  reiterated  symptoms  of  the  extreme 


146      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

inattention  which  long  silence  supposes,  on  questions 
the  most  important,  on  requests  the  most  instan- 
taneous, and  sometimes  of  absolute  forgetfulness  of 
the  greatest  part  of  these  things,  I  should  be  induced 
to  believe  that  my  letters  are  read,  at  the  most,  with 
as  much  interest  as  a  packet  would  be,  the  materials 
of  which  are  tolerably  clear  and  orderly,  and  that  the 
reading  produces  not  the  least  ultimate  effect.  Should 
this  be  so,  is  it  worth  the  trouble  (I  put  the  question 
to  you,  whose  energetic  sentiments  and  high  thoughts 
so  often  escape,  notwithstanding  all  the  contagion  of 
levity,  carelessness,  egotism  and  inconsistency  which 
exhale  out  of  every  door  in  the  country  which  you 
inhabit),  is  it  right,  I  say,  that  I  should  sacrifice,  to 
an  interest  so  subordinate  as  that  of  curiosity,  my 
inclinations,  my  talents,  my  time  and  my  powers?  I 
believe  you  know  me  to  be  no  quack,  you  know  it  is 
not  my  custom  to  speak  of  my  pains,  and  of  my  labors, 
in  fustian  terms.  Permit  me,  then,  my  good  and  dear 
friend,  to  protest  that  they  both  are  great.  I  keep 
three  men  totally  occupied  in  mechanically  copying 
the  materials  I  have  arranged.  I  am  assisted  by  the 
labor  and  the  knowledge  of  several ;  all  my  moments, 
all  my  thoughts  are  there,  thence  depart,  and  thither 
return.  Should  the  product  be  no  greater  (and  I 
may  say  to  you  that  you  cannot  yet  estimate  the  whole 
product,  for  the  greatest  of  my  labors  are  still  in  my 
desk),  it  must  either  be  the  fault  of  my  own  incapacity 
or  of  my  situation;  perhaps  of  both,  and  perhaps  also 
of  the  latter  only.  But  here  I  am  wholly,  and,  as  a 
man  of  thirty-seven,  ought  not  to  be  wholly,  devoted 
to  nullities;  for  nullities  they  are  if  nothing  be  pro- 
duced, nothing  effected,  either  in  behalf  of  myself  or 
others. 

If,  therefore,  anything  BE  produced,  afford  me  some 
proof  of  it;  and  when,  for  example,  I  ask  any  question, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      147 

for  the  purpose  of  more  effectually  executing  my 
trust,  let  it  be  answered.  When  I  say  it  is  necessary  I 
should  have  a  plan  of  operations  of  such  a  kind  to 
propose,  because  I  shall  be  immediately  questioned  on 
the  subject,  and  shall  lose  an  opportunity  which  prob- 
ably may  never  be  recovered  should  I  be  caught  un- 
provided, let  such  a  plan  of  operations  be  sent  me. 

If  all  this  is  to  have  any  good  effect  in  my  favor,  let 
me  be  told  so ;  for  in  my  present  situation  I  have  great 
need  of  encouragement,  if  it  were  but  to  empower  me 
to  yield  without  madness  to  the  impulses  of  my  zeal. 
I  say  without  madness;  for,  to  speak  only  of  the  vilest, 
but,  notwithstanding,  the  most  palpable  of  wants, 
when  I  perceive  that  I  am  very  unable  to  make  my 
accounts  balance  with  the  present  appointments,  ought 
I  not  to  clog  the  down-hill  wheel?  And  what  have 
I  to  hope  from  these  appointments,  when  I  recollect 
how  much  they  are  in  arrear;  and  that  a  change  of 
Ministry  may  increase  my  personal  debts  with  the 
sums  which  my  friends  have  advanced  me,  for  the  ser- 
vice of  those  who  cannot  be  ignorant  I  am  myself  in- 
capable of  making  such  advances?  Yet,  should  I 
stop,  is  there  not  an  end  to  all  utility  from  what  I 
have  hitherto  effected?  Shall  I  then  have  anything 
remaining  except  regret  for  time  lost,  and  the  deep, 
the  rankling  affliction  of  having  attached  people  to  my 
fortunes  for  whom  I  can  do  nothing  but  what  must 
be  an  ill  compensation,  and  at  my  own  expense,  for 
all  which  they  have  done  for  me? 

Pardon  these  expansions  of  the  heart.  To  whom 
may  I  confide  my  anxieties,  if  not  to  you,  my  friend, 
my  consolation,  my  guide,  and  my  support?  To  whom 
may  I  say,  what  is  all  this  to  me,  since  it  does  not 
produce  me  even  money?  For  that  I  expend  in  the 
business  I  have  undertaken,  and  not  in  private  gratifi- 
cations. In  truth,  I  should  be  susceptible  of  no  other, 


148      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

were  the  hoped  futurity  come,  and  I  had  no  depen- 
dents. You  well  know  that  money  to  me  is  nothing, 
at  least  when  I  have  any.  Where  am  I  going,  whither 
leading  others  ?  Have  I  made  a  good  bargain  by  bar- 
tering my  life,  stormy  as  it  was,  but  so  mingled  with 
enjoyments  of  which  it  was  not  in  human  power  to 
deprive  me,  for  a  sterile  activity,  which  snatches  me 
even  from  the  frequent  and  delightful  effusions  of 
your  friendship  ?  You  are  to  me  but  a  statesman ;  you, 
for  the  pressure  of  whose  hand  I  would  relinquish  all 
the  thrones  on  earth.  Alas,  I  am  much  better  formed 
for  friendship  than  for  politics. 

Post  Scriptum,  began  at  Helmstadt,  and  finished  at 

BRUNSWICK,   October   i^th,   1786. 

They  write  from  Silberberg,  in  Silesia,  that  the 
King's  carriage  has  been  overturned,  and  that  he  has 
received  contusions  on  the  head  and  on  the  arm.  The 
coachman,  it  is  added,  expired  on  the  place.  The 
news  reached  me  yesterday,  at  Magdeburg,  and  the 
same  has  been  written  to  General  Prittwitz;  it  prob- 
ably exceeds  the  truth,  but  is  not  wholly  without  foun- 
dation. The  extreme  agitation  of  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  and  my  own  emotions,  made  me  pro- 
foundly feel  the  fortunes  that  rest  on  this  Monarch's 
head.  The  Duke  immediately  sent  off  a  courier,  and, 
as  I  shall  follow  him  to  Brunswick,  where  he  wishes 
to  speak  to  me  at  large  concerning  Holland,  I  shall 
learn  more  circumstantial  intelligence,  and  such  as  will 
be  indubitable.  I  have  not  time  to  add  a  single  word ; 
I  write  while  the  horses  are  changed. 

From  BRUNSWICK,  October  *4th,  1786. 
Not  having  found  an  opportunity  of  sending  off 
these  few  lines,  I  continue. 

I  arrived  here  two  hours  before  the  Duke.    As  soon 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       149 

as  he  came  to  Brunswick,  he  wrote  to  me  with  a 
pencil,  on  a  slip  of  paper : 

"I  spoke  yesterday  evening,  before  I  departed,  with 
the  Minister  Count  Schulemburg,  who  had  left  Berlin 
on  the  eleventh.  He  is  in  absolute  ignorance  of  the 
alarming  intelligence  by  which  we  were  so  much 
affected,  and,  as  I  have  heard  nothing  on  the  subject 
since,  I  begin  to  have  better  hopes.  I  expect  my 
courier  will  arrive  early  in  the  morning.  I  write  you 
this,  Monsieur  le  Comte,  from  my  mother's,  and  I  hope 
you  will  do  me  the  favor  to  come  to  me  early  to- 
morrow morning  and  dine  with  us." 

It  appears  to  be  very  probable  that  no  material  harm 
has  happened  to  the  Sovereign. 

The  splendor  of  the  talents  and  urbanity  of  the  Duke 
appeared  perfect  at  Magdeburg.  Nothing  could  be 
more  awful  than  his  manceuvres,  nothing  so  instructive 
as  his  school,  nothing  so  finished,  so  connected,  so 
perfect,  as  his  conduct  in  every  respect.  He  was  the 
subject  of  admiration  to  a  great  number  of  foreigners, 
who  had  crowded  to  Magdeburg,  and  he  certainly 
stood  in  no  need  of  the  contrast  which  the  Duke  of 
Weimar  and  the  Prince  of  Dessau  afforded,  the  latter 
the  weakest  of  men,  the  former  industriously  laboring 
to  be  something,  but  ill-provided  with  requisites,  if 
we  are  to  judge  him  by  appearances.  He  might  and 
ought  to  become  a  Prince  of  importance.  According 
to  all  probabilities,  however,  Saxony  will  devolve  on 
him  for  want  of  children  in  the  Electoral  branch,  and  it 
is  an  afflicting  perspective  to  contemplate  the  destruc- 
tion of  all  the  labors  of  the  worthy  Prince  who  at 
present  governs  the  country,  and  who,  tormented  in 
his  childhood,  unhappy  in  youth,  and  truly  respectable 
in  manhood,  will,  perhaps,  descend  to  the  tomb  with 
the  bitter  affliction  of  feeling  that  all  the  good  he  has 
done  will  be  rendered  ineffectual. 


150       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

I  .have  learned  a  fact,  which  will  afford  some 
pleasure  to  M.  de  Segur,  if  he  be  still  living.  A 
foundry  has  been  built  at  Hanover,  at  a  great  expense, 
which  has  cost  the  King  of  England  near  one  hundred 
thousand  livres.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick,  not  being 
satisfied  with  his  own  foundry,  had  two  cannons  cast 
at  Hanover,  and  they  were  so  ill-cast  that  they  were 
soon  obliged  to  be  laid  aside.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed, 
when  we  recollect  the  connections  between  the  Duke 
and  the  King  of  England,  that  this  was  occasioned  by 
any  trick  in  the  founders;  the  fact,  therefore,  is  a 
proof  that  they  are  bad  workmen. 

By  the  next  courier  I  hope  to  send  you  the  exact 
result  of  the  dispositions  of  Berlin,  and  the  Duke, 
relative  to  Holland.  He  has  promised  me  a  precise 
statement  of  the  propositions  which  appear  to  him 
necessary,  and  he  did  not  conceal  the  extreme  desire  he 
had  that  they  should  be  accepted  by  France.  These 
Dutch  disturbances  daily  present  a  more  threatening 
aspect  for  the  repose  of  Europe — if  not  at  the  present 
moment,  at  least  from  future  contingencies,  and  the 
coolness  and  distrust  to  which  they  will  give  rise. 


LETTER  XXXV 

BRUNSWICK,  October  i6th,  1786. 

THE  two  conversations  I  have  had  with  the  Duke 
have  hitherto  been  but  vague  respecting  Holland,  and 
indeed  almost  foreign  to  the  subject.  His  courier, 
having  brought  him  the  news  of  hopes  of  an  accommo- 
dation, and  of  the  retreat  of  the  person  who  of  all 
those  concerned  with  M.  de  Vayrac  was  supposed  to  be 
the  chief  firebrand,  having,  in  fine,  brought  him  de- 
tails which  led  him  to  imagine  that  his  interference 
will  not  be  necessary,  or  not  yet  wanted  in  Holland, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      151 

he  passed  rapidly  over  the  country  to  come  to  one 
which  is  of  infinitely  greater  importance  to  him;  I 
mean  to  say  Prussia.  He  only  discovered  himself 
to  be  greatly  averse  to  the  party  of  the  Stadtholder, 
and  well  convinced  that  the  right  of  presentation  ought 
to  remain  such  as  it  was  in  its  origin ;  that  the  constitu- 
tion of  Gueldres,  Frieseland,  and  Utrecht  evidently 
was  in  want  of  reformation,  with  respect  to  the  incon- 
ceivable regulation  of  the  magistrates,  who  are  re- 
vocable ad  niitum;  that,  in  a  word,  the  Prince,  who 
from  absolute  monarchical  authority,  which  he  in 
reality  possessed,  was  sunken  into  absolute  discredit, 
by  conduct  the  most  abject,  and  the  folly  of  having 
claimed  that  as  a  right,  in  contempt  of  all  law,  all 
decency,  and  all  popular  prejudice,  which  he  effectually 
possessed,  was  not  deserving  of  the  least  support;  but 
that,  from  respect  to  Prussia,  and  particularly  to  re- 
tard commotions,  it  was  requisite  to  restore  him  the 
decorum  of  pageantry, — except  that  watch  should  be 
kept  over  his  connections.  And  here  he  explained 
himself  on  the  subject  of  Harris,  and  even  concerning 
Prince  Louis  of  Brunswick,  nearly  in  the  manner  I 
should  have  done  myself.  In  conclusion,  however,  he 
not  only  did  not  inform  me  of  anything  on  the  subject, 
but  he  imperceptibly  declined  that  debate  which  a  few 
days  before  he  had  provoked. 

I  repeat,  there  is  some  news  arrived  of  which  I  am 
ignorant,  that  has  occasioned  this  change  in  his  pro- 
ceedings. My  information  is  in  general  much  too  con- 
fined. Thus,  for  example,  it  is  very  singular,  nor  is  it 
less  embarrassing,  and  to  speak  plainly,  it  is  tolerably 
ridiculous,  that  it  should  be  the  Duke  who  should  in- 
form me  of  the  treaty  of  commerce  signed  between 
France  and  England,  not  one  of  the  articles  of  which 
I  am  acquainted  with,  and  on  which  occasion  I  knew 
not  what  face  to  wear.  As  my  usual  method  is  not  to 


152      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

conceal  myself  behind  any  veil  of  mystery,  which  hides 
the  insignificance  of  certain  Ambassadors,  the  part  I 
had  to  act  was  not  a  little  difficult.  I  should  learn  a 
thousand  times  more  were  I  myself  better  informed. 
In  this,  as  in  everything  else,  fortune  follows  the  suc- 
cessful. 

Returning  to  Prussia,  it  was  quite  a  different  affair, 
for  of  this  I  know  as  much  as  the  Duke.  His  confi- 
dence was  the  less  limited,  and  the  more  profuse,  be- 
cause I  presently  set  him  at  his  ease  with  respect  to 
Prince  Henry,  whom  he  neither  loves  nor  esteems.  I 
perceived  with  inquietude  that  his  opinions  and  fears 
are  similar  to  my  own.  He  is  dissatisfied  with  most 
of  the  proceedings  and  public  acts  of  the  King,  with 
that  crowd  of  titles,  and  that  mass  of  nobility,  which 
has  been  added  so  prodigally ;  insomuch  that  it  will  be 
henceforward  much  more  difficult  to  find  a  man  than 
a  nobleman  in  the  Prussian  States ;  with  the  promise 
made  to  the  Prince  of  Dessau  (whose  only  merit  is 
such  an  excess  of  enthusiasm  for  mysticism  and  vis- 
ionaries that,  when  Lavater  came  to  Bremen,  he  ad- 
dressed the  most  earnest  supplications  to  him  to  come 
and  pay  him  a  visit,  in  order  that  he  might  adore  him), 
and  perhaps  with  that  given  to  the  Duke  of  Weimar 
(who  to  the  same  inclinations,  and  more  lively  pas- 
sions, adds  greater,  understanding;  but  who  is  too 
much  in  debt  for  his  military  projects  to  be  otherwise 
regarded  than  as  a  money  speculation),  to  restore  the 
one  and  to  admit  the  other  into  the  Prussian  service; 
by  which  rank  in  the  army  will  be  violated,  and  the 
army  discouraged  and  vitiated, — a  system  very  op- 
posite to  that  of  Frederick  II,  who  said  of  the  few 
grandees  who  were  employed  in  his  time,  "  In  the 
name  of  God,  my  dear  Moellendorf,  rid  me  of  THESE 
PRINCES."  The  Duke  is  equally  dissatisfied  with  that 
fluctuation  which  occasions  essays  to  be  made  on 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      153 

twenty  systems  at  once ;  with  the  most  of  the  persons 
chosen;  with  domestic  disorder;  with  nocturnal  rites, 
and  with  the  anecdotes  the  augury  of  which  from  day 
to  day  becomes  more  inauspiciously  characteristic,  etc., 
etc.  In  a  word,  should  I  transcribe  our  conversation, 
I  should  but  send  new  copies  of  old  dispatches. 

"  Believe  me,"  said  he,  "  I  may,  in  a  certain  degree, 
serve  you  as  a  thermometer,  for  if  I  perceive  there  are 
no  hopes  of  a  firm  and  noble  regimen,  and  that  there- 
fore the  day  of  the  House  of  Brandenburg  is  come,  I 
shall  not  be  the  last  to  sound  a  retreat.  I  never  re- 
ceived money  from  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  I  am  well 
determined  never  to  accept  anything  from  him,  though 
I  mean  to  remain  in  the  service.  It  has,  as  you 
have  seen,  been  a  dear  service  to  me.  I  am  indepen- 
dent. I  wish  to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  great  man  who  is  no  more,  and  am 
ready  to  shed  my  blood,  if  that  might  cement  his  work; 
but  I  will  not,  even  by  my  presence,  become  the  ac- 
complice of  its  demolition.  Our  debts  never  exceed 
our  abilities.  I  shall  provide  in  the  best  manner  in 
my  power  for  my  country  and  my  children;  these  I 
shall  leave  in  great  order.  I  keep  up  my  family  con- 
nections. We  perhaps  shall  be  the  last  who  will  be 
smitten  by  the  overthrow  of  the  Germanic  body,  be- 
cause of  the  confraternity  which  unites  us  to  the  Elec- 
tor of  Hanover.  I,  therefore,  shall  no  further  follow 
the  destiny  of  the  Prussian  monarchy  than  as  its  Gov- 
ernment shall  maintain  its  wisdom,  its  dignity,  etc., 
etc." 

At  present  the  Duke  despairs  of  nothing;  and  in 
this  he  is  right.  He  supposes  that  no  person  has  yet 
found  his  proper  place.  I  think  like  him,  and  I  per- 
ceive he  hopes  his  turn  will  come;  of  this  neither  can 
I  doubt, -unless  the  annihilation  of  the  Prussian  power 
has  been  decreed  by  fate. 


154      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

He  has  informed  me  of  the  very  singular  fact  that 
M.  de  Custine,  the  father,  has  demanded  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  service  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  has 
pretended  to  disclose  all  the  hostile  plans  of  the  Em- 
peror, whose  alliance,  nevertheless,  this  same  M.  de 
Custine  loudly  affirms  will  terminate,  with  France, 
the  day  that  Prince  Kaunitz  dies. 

The  Duke  is  very  far  from  being  relieved  of  all 
his  fears  concerning  the  projects  of  the  Emperor, 
whose  puissance  and  advisers  he  holds  in  infinite  dread. 
True  it  is  that  his  inconsistency  should  render  his  de- 
signs and  the  execution  of  them  abortive;  that  the  ir- 
rationality of  his  personal  conduct  should  hasten  his 
end ;  that  the  Archduke  Francis  appears  to  be  a  cipher ; 
that  among  the  persons  who  have  influence  there  is  not 
one  formidable  man,  especially  in  the  army;  and  that 
Alventzy  and  Kinsky,  the  one  manufacturer  for  the 
infantry,  and  the  other  for  the  cavalry,  possess  only 
ambiguous  abilities,  etc.  But  men  start  up  at  the 
moment  when  they  are  least  expected ;  accident  only  is 
necessary  to  rank  them  in  their  proper  place.  Conde, 
Spinola,  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  himself,  prove 
that  it  is  possible  to  be  born  a  general.  There  is  a 
Prince  of  Waldeck  in  the  Austrian  army,  who,  it  is 
said,  announces  grand  talents. 

The  numerous,  trifling  anecdotes,  which  the  Duke 
and  I  have  mutually  related  to  each  other,  would  be 
too  tedious  for  insertion,  and  out  of  their  place  also 
here.  An  anecdote,  merely  as  such,  is  equally  devoid 
of  propriety  and  information;  such  will  have  their 
turn  hereafter ;  but  there  is  one  which  relates  too  much 
to  the  Russian  system  for  it  to  be  passed  over  in  si- 
lence. 

The  Czarina  has,  for  some  months  past,  appro- 
priated to  herself  the  possession  and  the  revenues  of 
the  posts  of  Courland,  leaving  a  small  part  only  to  the 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       155 

Duke,  in  order  that  this  branch  of  administration  might 
not  appear  to  be  wholly  in  the  hands  of  foreigners. 
Thus  does  this  same  Russia,  that  maintains  an  envoy  at 
Courland,  although  there  is  none  at  Courland  from 
Petersburg,  and  that  here,  as  in  Poland,  proclaims  her 
will  to  the  Duke  and  to  the  States,  by  her  Ambassador, 
who  is  the  real  Sovereign  of  the  country, — this  Rus- 
sia, that  for  some  years  past,  has  unequivocally  and 
openly  declared  that  a  certain  canton  of  Courland  ap- 
pertained to  her,  and  without  seeking  any  other  pre- 
text than  that  of  giving  a  more  uniform  line  to  her 
limits,  makes  no  secret  of  not  understanding  any  other 
code,  any  other  claims,  any  other  manifestoes,  than 
those  which  the  Gauls  alleged  to  the  Etruscans — "  Our 
right  exists  in  our  arms.  Whatever  the  strong  can 
seize  upon  that  is  the  right  of  the  strong."  She  will 
one  of  these  days  declare  Courland  is  hers,  that  the 
Polish  Ukraine  is  hers,  and  that  Finland  is  hers.  And, 
for  example,  this  latter  revolution,  which  will  be  a  very 
salutary  one  to  her  because  she  will  then  truly  become 
unattackable,  and  almost  inaccessible,  to  all  Europe 
united,  will  be  effected,  whenever  she  shall  make  the 
attempt,  if  we  do  not  take  good  heed.  Whenever  the 
time  may  come  that  I  shall  be  informed  of  this  having 
taken  place,  and  even  of  the  new  system  of  Sweden 
being  totally  overthrown,  I  shall  not  feel  any  sur- 
prise. 

The  Duke  also  told  me  that  the  Emperor  is  greatly 
improving  his  artillery;  that  his  six-pounders  are 
equivalent  in  force  to  our  former  eight-pounders ;  and 
to  this  advantage  they  add  that  of  lightness,  in  so  great 
a  degree,  that  only  four  horses  are  necessary  to  draw 
them,  while  even  in  Prussia  six  are  still  requisite.  As 
well  as  I  remember  he  attributes  this  double  improve- 
ment to  the  CONICAL  construction  of  the  chamber.  I 
only  relate  this  that  you  may  verify  the  truth  of  the 


156      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

fact  by  people  who  are  acquainted  with  such  affairs; 
the  diminution  of  two  horses  in  eight  being  a  thing 
of  infinite  importance,  and  the  more  so  as  there  would 
be  a  servant  the  less. 

The  manner  in  which  I  have  been  received  by  the 
Duke  was  infinitely  friendly  on  his  part,  though  some- 
what participating,  as  far  as  relates  to  freedom  of  con- 
versation, of  my  equivocal  mode  of  existence  at  Berlin. 
I  believe  I  may,  without  presumption,  affirm  I  am 
not  disagreeable  to  this  Prince,  and  that,  were  I  ac- 
credited by  any  commission  whatever,  I  should  be  one 
of  most  proper  persons  to  treat  with  him  with  efficacy. 
This  able  man  appears  to  me  to  have  but  one  weak- 
ness, which  is  the  prodigious  dread  of  having  his  repu- 
tation injured,  even  by  the  most  contemptible  Zoilus. 
Yet  has  he  lately  exposed  himself  to  vexatious  blame 
in  deference  to  his  first  Minister,  M.  von  Feronce, 
which  I  cannot  comprehend.  This  M.  von  Feronce, 
and  M.  von  Munchausen,  Grand  Master  of  the  Court, 
a  man  who  is  reported  to  have  little  delicacy  con- 
cerning money  matters,  have  farmed  the  lottery, — an 
action  shameful  in  itself,  and  which  I  cannot  reconcile 
to  Von  Feronce,  who  is  really  a  man  of  merit.  Two 
merchants,  named  Oeltz  and  Nothnagel,  have  gained  a 
quaterne,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  sum  of  eighteen 
thousand  crowns.  The  payment  of  this  has  not  only 
been  refused,  but  as  it  was  necessary  to  act  with  fraud 
to  effect  their  purpose,  the  merchants  have  undergone 
numerous  oppressions ;  they  have  even  been  impris- 
oned ;  all  which  acts  they  have  lately  published  in  a 
printed  case,  which  contains  nothing  but  the  facts  con- 
cerning the  suit,  and  have  laid  an  appeal  against  the 
Duke,  or  against  his  judges,  before  the  tribunal  of 
Wetzlar;  I  own  I  do  not  understand  this  absence  of 
firmness,  or  of  circumspection. 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      157 

October  lyth,  1786. 

POSTSCRIPT. — I  have  just  received  authentic  intelli- 
gence concerning  the  King  of  Prussia.  It  was  one  of 
his  chasseurs  to  whom  a  very  serious  accident  hap- 
pened; the  Monarch  himself  is  in  good  health,  and  will 
arrive  on  the  eighteenth  or  the  nineteenth  at  Berlin. 

I  learn,  at  the  same  time,  that  Count  Finckenstein  is 
dying  of  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  with  which  he 
was  seized  after  a  very  warm  altercation  with  Count 
Hertzberg,  on  the  subject  of  Holland.  His  life  is  de- 
spaired of,  and  his  loss  to  us  will  be  very  great;  as  well 
because  he  was  absolutely  ours,  as  because  that,  being 
a  temporizer  by  nature,  he  would  have  acted  as  the 
moderator  of  Prince  Henry.  He  would  also  have  di- 
rected the  conduct  of  Mademoiselle  Voss,  after  the 
fall  of  virtue;  and  finally  because  Hertzberg  will  no 
longer  have  any  counterpoise.  With  respect  to  the 
latter  point,  however,  I  am  not  averse  to  suppose  that 
the  time  when  this  presumptuous  man  shall  be  in  abso- 
lute discredit  may  but  be  the  more  quickly  accelerated. 
Yet,  not  to  mention  the  sterility  of  subjects  by  which 
this  epoch  may  be  retarded,  who  shall  answer  that  a 
man  so  violent,  and  wholly  imbued  as  he  is  with  the 
hatred  which  the  Germans  in  general  bear  the  French, 
will  not  venture  to  make  some  very  decisive  false 
steps? 

The  Duke  of  York  arrived  here  this  evening,  and 
had  he  been  the  Emperor  he  could  not  have  been 
treated  with  more  respect,  especially  by  the  Duchess 
and  the  courtiers.  She,  indeed,  is  wholly  English, 
as  well  in  her  inclinations  and  her  principles  as  in  her 
manners;  insomuch  that  her  almost  cynical  indepen- 
dence, opposed  to  the  etiquette  of  the  Courts  of  Ger- 
man Princes,  forms  the  most  singular  contrast  I  know. 
I  do  not,  however,  believe  that  there  is  any  question 


158      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

concerning  the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Caroline,  who 
is  a  most  amiable,  lively,  playful,  witty,  and  handsome 
lady;  the  Duke  of  York,  a  puissant  hunter,  a  potent 
drinker,  an  indefatigable  laugher,  destitute  of  breed- 
ing and  politeness,  and  who  possesses,  at  least  in  ap- 
pearance, much  of  the  Duke  de  Lauzun,  as  well  in 
mind  as  in  person,  is  inspired  with  a  kind  of  passion 
for  a  \voman  married  to  a  jealous  husband,  who  tor- 
ments him,  and  will  not  suffer  him  to  fix  his  quarters. 
I  know  not  whether  he  will  go  to  Berlin.  The  versions 
relative  to  him  are  various.  Some  affirm  that,  after 
having  been  an  unbridled  libertine,  he  feels  a  return- 
ing desire  of  doing  his  duty.  For  my  own  part,  I 
find  in  him  all  the  stiffness  of  a  German  Prince,  with 
a  double  dose  of  English  insolence,  but  wanting  the 
free  cordiality  of  that  nation. 


LETTER  XXXVI 

BRUNSWICK,  October  27th,  1786. 

I  HERE  send  you  the  continuation  and  conclusion  of  the 
preceding  dispatch,  to  which  I  add  the  translation  of 
a  pamphlet,  the  singularity  of  which  is  increased  by 
its  having  appeared  at  Vienna,  with  the  permission  of 
the  Emperor ;  who,  to  the  communication  made  by  the 
censor,  has  added  these  very  words,  "  Let  this  pass 
among  others." 

This  is  but  a  trifle  compared  to  that  caprice  which 
three  days  afterwards  induced  him  to  release  the  un- 
fortunate Szekely,  whom  the  most  powerful  remon- 
strances could  not  save,  and  whose  cause  is  here  ill 
enough  defended.  For  what  conclusions  might  he  not 
have  drawn  from  the  confidence  with  which  he  im- 
parted to  the  Emperor  the  situation  of  his  accounts, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       159 

from  the  disorder  by  which  they  had  been  brought  into 
this  state,  from  the  ardent  supplications  he  made  him 
to  purchase  for  the  public  a  well-tried  chemical  secret 
at  such  a  price  as  would  have  completed  the  deficiency 
in  his  accounts  (I  say  completed,  for  Szekely  and  his 
family  had  paid  the  greatest  part  of  the  deficiencies), 
and  from  the  answer  of  the  Emperor  himself,—  "  Do 
you  address  yourself  to  me  as  a  friend,  or  as  to  the 
Emperor?  If  to  the  former,  I  cannot  be  the  friend  of 
a  man  who  has  not  been  faithful  to  his  trust.  If  as 
Emperor,  I  would  advise  you  to  go  in  person  and 
make  your  declaration  to  the  Cou'rts  of  Justice." 

This  fact,  which  I  have  learned  since  my  arrival  at 
Berlin,  attended  with  most  aggravating  circumstances, 
is  one  of  the  most  odious  I  can  recollect,  yet  might  I 
relate  fifty  of  the  same  species. 

Free  Observations  on  the  Crime  and  Punishment  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  SZEKELY,  of  the  Guards,  by  a 
Friend  of  Truth,  1786. 

LET  the  voice  of  Truth  be  heard,  let  her  at  present 
be  seen  without  disguise,  without  veil,  in  all  her  awful 
nakedness.  Hear,  ye  incorrupt  judges.  I  am  about  to 
speak  of  the  crime  and  punishment  of  Szekely.  My 
heart  melts,  but  my  words  shall  be  impartial.  Hear 
and  pronounce  sentence  on  me,  on  Szekely,  and  on 
those  who  pronounced  sentence  on  him. 

Szekely  announces  a  deficiency  in  the  regimental 
chest  of  the  guards,  and  the  disorder  of  his  accounts; 
and  after  some  pretended  examinations  is  brought  be- 
fore the  Council  of  War.  Ninety-seven  thousand 
florins  of  the  Empire  have  disappeared;  but  Szekely 
had  placed  his  whole  confidence  in  the  Sieur  Lakner, 
who  is  deceased,  and  who  was  the  only  keeper  of  the 
keys  of  the  chest.  Szekely  had  more  than  once  de- 


160      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

clared  that  he  himself  was  a  very  improper  person  to 
have  pecuniary  matters  committed  to  his  charge,  and 
that  he  never  had  revised  nor  verified  the  accounts  of 
the  regimental  chest  confided  to  his  care.  He  there- 
fore cannot  be  suspected  of  personal  fraud,  especially 
when  his  regiment  renders  justice  to  the  goodness  of 
his  manners,  and  unanimously  points  out  the  cashier 
Lakner  as  a  person  who  was  debased  by  meanness, 
and  rendered  suspicious  by  incurring  expenses  in- 
finitely above  his  fortune. 

This,  it  is  very  true,  was  an  exceedingly  culpable 
negligence,  but  such  was  the  only  crime  of  Szekely; 
and  it  was  for  this  reason  that  the  Council  of  War 
condemned  him  to  be  imprisoned  six  years  in  a  for- 
tress. The  punishment  was  doubtless  in  itself  suf- 
ficient, since  Szekely,  in  effect,  and  according  to  the 
language  of  the  civilians,  was  Nee  confessus  nee  con- 
victus  of  any  prevarication;  yet  was  it  aggravated  by 
the  Aulic  Council  of  War,  which  was  commanded  to 
make  a  revision  of  the  process,  and  which  increased  his 
detention  to  a  duration  of  eight  years.  Was  this  tri- 
bunal ignorant,  then,  that  it  is  a  custom  with  our 
MOST  GRACIOUS  Monarch  himself  to  increase  the  sever- 
ity of  all  sentences,  pronounced  against  criminals? 
Let  us,  therefore,  believe  that  the  judges,  on  this  oc- 
casion, were  only  obedient  to  the  rigor  of  the  laws;  but 
the  after  decision  of  the  Emperor  will  most  assuredly 
appear  inconceivable.  The  following  is  the  judgment 
which  this  Monarch  uttered — Yes!  uttered,  yet  did 
not  blush : 

"  Szekely  must,  without  hesitation,  be  broken,  de- 
clared incapable  of  military  service,  and  delivered  over 
to  the  civil  officer,  who  shall  convey  him  to  the  place 
where  the  crime  was  committed  in  Vienna,  where  he 
shall  stand  in  the  pillory  for  three  successive  days,  and 
remain  two  hours  each  day  on  a  scaffold,  in  the  high 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      161 

market  place,  that  his  example  may  be  of  public  utility. 
As  a  favor  and  in  consequence  of  his  age,  I  limit  the 
eight  years'  imprisonment  to  which  he  is  condemned 
to  four,  during  which  he  shall  be  confined  at  Segedin, 
a  penal  prison  of  the  civil  power  of  the  Hungarian 
States,  where  he  shall  receive  the  same  allowance  for 
food  as  is  granted  to  other  criminals." 

The  Court  of  Justice  made  remonstrances  to  the 
Emperor,  in  which  it  proved  that  the  punishment  was 
much  too  severe,  and  entirely  contrary  to  law  and  to 
equity ;  but  the  Emperor  continued  inflexible,  and  thus 
confirmed  his  sentence. 

"  All  superintendents  of  military  chests  might,  like 
Szekely,  plead  that  they  knew  not  what  was  become  of 
the  money,  even  though  it  should  have  been  stolen  by 
themselves.  Whenever  there  is  a  deficiency  in  any 
chest,  and  especially  of  a  sum  so  considerable  as  ninety- 
seven  thousand  florins,  and  there  is  no  necessity  for  the 
judge  to  prove  that  the  money  has  been  taken  by  the 
accused  person,  but  the  accused  person  must  show  that 
it  has  not  been  taken  by  him;  and  whenever  he  can- 
not demonstrate  this  he  himself  is  the  thief.  As  soon 
as  Szekely  shall  have  been  broken,  and  shall  be  no 
longer  an  officer,  the  sentence  against  him  shall  be  put 
in  execution,  and  a  paper  shall  be  fixed  round  his  neck 
on  which  shall  be  written — AN  UNFAITHFUL  STEW- 
ARD." 

Let  us  take  an  attentive  retrospect  of  these  supreme 
decisions. 

Szekely  is  punishable  for  having  been  exceedingly 
negligent;  he  is  the  same  for  having  bestowed  his 
whole  confidence  on  a  dishonest  cashier,  of  whose 
pompous  luxury  he  could  not  be  ignorant,  since  it  gave 
offense  to  the  whole  corps  of  the  guards.  It  was  easy 
to  conclude  that  such  a  man  could  not  live  at  an  ex- 
pense so  great  on  his  paternal  income.  It  is  even  prob- 


162      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

able  that  Szekely  himself,  perceiving  the  disorder  of 
his  accounts,  and  the  deficiency  in  his  chest,  and  terri- 
fied by  the  infamy  and  punishment  inflicted  on  such 
crimes,  sacrificed  much  to  alchemy  and  the  occult 
sciences,  in  the  hope  of  making  gold,  and  thus  freeing 
himself  from  his  embarrassments.  This,  no  doubt, 
was  a  folly  at  which  all  men  of  sense  would  grieve; 
it  is  not,  however,  the  less  possible.  It  is  certain  that 
the  love  of  chemistry  was  the  ruling  passion  of 
Szekely,  and  that  he  indulged  his  inclinations  the 
more  because  he  expected  sometime  thus  to  recover 
his  losses.  To  this  excuse  let  'us  add  the  extreme  igno- 
rance of  which  he  accused  himself  in  all  that  related  to 
pecuniary  affairs. 

True  it  is  that,  with  such  a  conviction  of  his  own 
incapacity,  he  never  ought  to  have  taken  charge  of  a 
regimental  chest;  but  were  all  those  who  are  in  pos- 
session of  places,  the  duties  of  which  are  far  beyond 
their  abilities,  obliged  to  abdicate  them,  what  vast  des- 
erts would  our  public  offices  afford !  Rabner  en- 
courages three  different  species  of  men,  by  saying 
"  On  whom  God  bestows  an  office  he  also  bestows  a 
sufficient  degree  of  understanding  for  the  exercise  of 
that  office."  Szekely  would  not  indubitably  have 
adopted  this  opinion,  could  he  have  foreseen  the  evil 
consequences  of  his  presumption. 

Was  not  that  flattering  letter  which  was  addressed 
to  him  by  Maria  Theresa,  of  glorious  memory,  in 
which,  while  she  gave  the  highest  praises  to  his  probity 
and  loyalty,  this  august  Sovereign  confided  to  his  care, 
without  any  caution,  the  regimental  chest  of  the 
guards,  an  authentic  testimony  in  behalf  of  his  honor? 
Has  it  been  meant  by  the  forgetfulness  of  this  distinc- 
tion to  add  a  new  outrage  to  all  the  ingratitudes  with 
which  some  have  sullied  themselves,  relative  to  this^ 
immortal  Empress?  Was  it  intended  to  tax  her  with 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      163 

that  levity,  that  silly  credulity,  which  blind  confidence 
produces?  Alas!  in  despite  of  all  the  defects  which 
envy  so  gratuitously  imputes  to  her,  Maria  Theresa 
never  was  surrounded  by  such  an  army  of  knaves  as 
those  from  whom  all  the  rigor  of  the  present  Sovereign 
cannot  preserve  us.  So  true  is  it  that  gentleness  and 
love,  from  a  Prince  toward  his  subjects,  are  more  effica- 
cious means,  to  preserve  them  within  the  bounds  of 
duty,  than  all  the  violent  acts  tyranny  can  commit. 

I  return  to  Szekely  and  affirm  it  is  impossible  that 
this  letter  from  the  Empress  Queen,  though  in  some 
sort  the  pledge  of  the  fidelity  of  Szekely,  can  serve  as 
an  excuse  to  the  Prince  of  Esterhazy,  whose  personal 
negligence  cannot  be  justified.  Did  not  his  right,  as 
chief  of  the  guards,  impose  it  on  him  as  a  law  to  ex- 
amine the  regimental  chest  of  Szekely?  And  is  not 
such  an  infraction  of  the  duties  of  his  place  most  re- 
prehensible ? 

Still  less  can  be  offered  in  defense  of  the  fault  com- 
mitted by  the  Hungaro-Transylvanian  Chancery; 
since  according  to  its  instructions,  it  was  in  like  man- 
ner bound  to  inspect  the  administration  of  Szekely. 
But  none  of  the  acts  of  this  superior  Court  ought  to 
inspire  astonishment,  since  it  is  no  longer  distin- 
guished, except  by  disorder  and  ill  faith;  since  its  re- 
sponsibility is  no  longer  anything  but  a  word;  and 
since  its  ideas  of  exact  calculation,  and  of  receipt  and 
expense,  are  exactly  as  just  as  those  of  Brambille  are 
on  physic. 

Judges,  ye  have  condemned  Szekely.  Be  it  so.  Act 
worthy  of  your  office.  Punish  his  superintendents 
also,  who  have  by  a  non-performance  of  their  duty 
placed  him  on  the  brink  of  that  abyss  into  which  you 
headlong  plunged  him;  without  humanity,  and  void  of 
shame. 

The  Kings  of  Europe  have  all  reserved  to  them- 

6 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


164 

selves  the  most  benevolent  of  prerogatives;  that  of 
pardoning  the  guilty,  or  of  softening  the  pains  the 
sentence  inflicts  by  which  they  are  condemned.  Joseph 
alone  persists  in  other  principles,  more  conformable 
to  the  feelings  of  his  heart.  He  aggravates  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  wretched.  Alas !  this  no  doubt  is  but  to 
enjoy  the  ecstatic  pleasure  of  terrifying  his  people,  by 
the  exercise  of  the  most  unlimited  despotism.  Unfor- 
tunate Szekely!  Ill-starred  man!  I  pity  thee.  Thou 
fallest  a  victim  to  the  splenetic  temper  of  the  Monarch ! 
Perhaps,  at  the  very  instant  when  he  pronounced  thy 
doom,  a  troublesome  fly  stung  his  brow,  and  thy  dis- 
honor was  his  vengeance.  Deplorable  sacrifice  of  a 
tyrannical  and  barbarous  heart,  yes,  I  pity  thee.  Men 
of  worth,  men  of  justice,  what  must  the  Monarch  be 
who  can  ADD  to  the  rigor  of  the  Judge? — A  tyrant! 
What  can  the  Monarch  be  who  tramples  under  foot 
the  rights  of  humanity  ? — A  tyrant ! !  What  can  the 
Monarch  be  who  can  make  the  laws  and  the  justice  of 
his  kingdom  his  sport  ? — A  tyrant ! ! !  What  can  the 
Monarch  be  who  in  criminal  decisions  shall  act  only 
according  to  his  caprice  ? — A  Joseph ! ! ! ! 

A  Joseph!— Oh,  God!  Great  God!  What  then  is 
man  ?  A  poor  and  feeble  creature,  whom  an  imperious 
oppressor  may  at  any  moment  reduce  to  dust;  or  may 
rend  his  heart,  extort  his  last  sight,  by  the  seven  thou- 
sand raging  torments  which  the  Hydras  with  seven 
thousand  heads  in  sport  inflicts. 

Dreadful  image!  Ignominious  to  humanity,  yet 
woefully  true,  woefully  exact,  woefully  confirmed  by 
experience!  Does  not  a  Sovereign  who  increases  the 
rigor  of  sentences  openly  proclaim :  '  Ye  Judges, 
whom  I  have  appointed  to  judge  according  to  law  and 
equity,  ye  are  prevaricators;  ye  have  betrayed  your 
trust,  falsified  your  consciences,  and  have  endeavored 
to  practice  deceit  upon  me  ?  "  Such  magistrates,  there- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      165 

fore,  ought  not  to  be  continued  in  office ;  for,  to  suffer 
them  still  to  be  Judges  is  to  approve  their  conduct, 
and  confirm  their  judgment.  But,  destructive  as  the 
thunderbolt,  the  Monarch,  addressing  them,  exclaims : 
"Your  sentence  is  too  mild !  It  is  my  will  arbitrarily  to 
increase  punishment,  that  I  may  prove  myself  the 
master  of  life  and  death !  "  What  language,  oh,  God ! 
from  the  mouth  of  a  King  whom  thou  hast  appointed 
to  be  our  protector,  and  not  our  tyrant ! 

Szekely  would  never  have  been  condemned,  had  he 
not  been  intimately  connected  with  the  Freemasons. 
When  the  Emperor  pronounced  sentence  against  this 
unfortunate  man,  he  forgot  himself  so  far  as  to  say, 
"I  will  let  those  gentry  (the  Freemasons)  understand 
there  is  no  efficacy  in  their  protection." 

Where,  then,  is  the  equity  of  a  Monarch  who  thus 
prostitutes  the  power  he  is  in  possession  of,  to  the  de- 
struction of  one  of  the  members  of  a  society  which  he 
detests?  Who  would  not  smile  contemptuously  at 
the  poor  malice  of  a  peasant  who  should  go  in  search 
of  his  neighbor,  after  twilight,  that  he  might  unseen 
give  him  a  fillip  on  the  nose,  run  away,  and  divert 
himself  with  having  played  him  so  cunning  a  trick. 
Oh,  Justice!  Justice!  Shalt  thou  forever  have  eyes 
that  thou  mayst  not  see? 

Yes,  debased,  corrupted  was  the  mouth  which  in- 
creased the  rigor  of  the  sentence  of  Szekely,  who 
previously  had  been  destined  to  languish  eight  years  in 
prison.  Joseph  has  diminished  the  term  of  his  de- 
tention. And  are  these,  then,  thy  favors,  sceptered 
executioner?  Yes,  this  favor  granted  to  a  man  of 
quality,  who  was  for  three  successive  days  exposed  in 
the  pillory,  resembles  that  which  a  criminal,  condemned 
to  the  gallows,  should  receive  from  thee,  whom  thou 
shouldst  permit  to  be  racked  upon  the  wheel,  because 
he  was  too  feeble  to  mount  the  ladder. 


1 66      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Couldst  them  have  survived  the  shame  of  such  a 
crime,  had  not  thy  people  themselves  applauded  thy 
fury?  Tht  curiosity  with  which  all  Vienna  enjoyed 
the  spectacle  the  wretched  Szekely  afforded,  proves 
that  the  manners  of  thy  subjects  already  partake  of 
thine  own  barbarity.  But  let  them  tremble,  slaves  as 
they  are,  bowed  beneath  the  yoke.  A  new  Nero 
promises  new  crimes,  new  horrors! 


LETTER   XXXVII 

BRUNSWICK,  October  i&th,  1786. 

I  FEAR  there  are  some  waverings  in  the  mind  of  the 
King,  relative  to  Holland ;  for  the  Duke,  after  the  ar- 
rival of  his  courier,  and  receiving  information  of  the 
danger  of  Count  Finckenstein,  again  spoke  to  me  on 
the  subject,  with  a  degree  of  inquietude  which  was  far 
from  dissembled.  The  following  were  his  precise 
words :  "  Holland  will  certainly  occasion  a  war,  espe- 
cially should  the  death  of  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  in- 
tervene; do  you  act,  therefore,  as  mediators  to  smoth- 
er the  rising  flames.  Come,  come,  the  Stadtholder 
must  have  a  council,  without  which  he  can  perform 
nothing ;  and  how  shall  this  council  be  selected  ?  " 

I  replied  to  the  Duke  that  I  was  not  sufficiently  ac- 
quainted with  those  affairs  to  give  any  opinion  on  the 
subject,  but  that  I  was  going  to  make  him  a  proposi- 
tion which  he  must  regard  as  only  ideal,  and  as  coming 
from  myself,  although  it  might  by  no  means  be  im- 
practicable. 

"  Now  that  I  know  how  far  I  can  depend  upon  your 
prudence  and  your  principles,"  I  continued,  "  I  am  cer- 
tain that  you  will  see  the  affairs  and  the  conduct  of  the 
Stadtholder  in  their  true  light ;  that  you  will  not  imag- 
ine friendship  in  politics  can  have  any  other  basis  than 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      167 

interests;  or  that  we  ought  to  renounce  our  alliance 
with  Holland,  in  order  that  the  Princess  of  Orange 
may  nightly  enjoy  more  agreeable  dreams;  that  you 
cannot  but  comprenend  how  much  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  place  any  confidence  in  Count  Hertzberg,  who, 
relative  to  us,  is  frantic,  and  how  much  our  distrust 
may  be  increased  should  our  sole  counterpoise  to  this 
violent  Minister  disappear  by  the  death  of  Count 
Finckenstein.  I  shall,  therefore,  thus  far,  willingly 
step  forward  to  say  that  it  appears  to  me  very 
probable  that  France  will  be  inclined  to  treat  on  this 
affair  with  you  singly,  should  the  King  of  Prussia 
consent  that  you  should  be  solely  trusted  with  the 
business  on  his  behalf;  and,  as  I  may  say,  should  you 
be  made  arbitrator.  I  feel  how  important  it  is  to  you, 
to  us,  and  to  all,  that  you  should  not  endanger  your- 
self in  the  opinion  of  his  Majesty.  There  are  already 
but  too  many  causes  of  distance  existing  between  you, 
and  the  country  is  entirely  lost  if  the  necessities  of 
the  times  do  not  oblige  you  to  take  the  helm.  But, 
should  you  find  the  crisis  so  alarming  as  to  dread  de- 
cisive events  should  be  the  consequence,  it  appears  to 
me  that  then  it  will  no  longer  be  proper  to  keep  beating 
against  the  wind.  For,  if  the  King  of  Prussia  be 
fated  to  commit  irreparable  faults,  it  would  be  as  well 
for  all  parties  that  he  should  begin  to-morrow,  in 
order  that  we  might  the'  sooner  augur  what  his  reign 
shall  be,  and  choose  our  sides  in  consequence.  It  is 
for  you,  therefore,  to  know  in  what  degree  of  favor 
you  are  with  the  King.  He  cannot  love  you ;  for  never 
yet  did  the  weak  man  love  the  strong.  He  cannot 
desire  you  should  be  his  Minister,  for  never  yet  did  a 
vain  and  dark  man  desire  to  possess  one  who  was  him- 
self illustrious  and  luminous.  But  it  is  neither  his 
friendship  nor  his  inclination  that  are  necessary  to 
you;  it  is  power.  You  ought  to  acquire  that  ascend- 


i68      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

ency  over  him  which  a  grand  character  and  a  vast 
genius  may  ever  acquire  over  a  confined  understand- 
ing and  an  unstable  mind.  If  you  have  enough  of 
this  ascendency  to  inspire  him  with  fears  for  his  situ- 
ation; to  convince  him  that  he  is  already  betrayed  to 
danger;  that  the  sending  of  Goertz,  in  your  despite 
(or,  rather,  without  your  knowledge,  for  you  were 
not  then  at  Berlin),  is  a  blunder  of  magnitude,  which 
has  been  committed  without  possessing  the  least  pledge 
of  docility  on  the  part  of  the  Stadtholder;  that  the 
inconsiderate  letters  of  Hertzberg  form  another  equal 
blunder;  that  this  Minister  pursues  his  PERSONAL 
INTERESTS,  and  those  only,  at  the  hazard  or  depriving 
his  master  of  PERSONAL  RESPECT,  even  from  the  com- 
mencement of  his  reign;  since  it  is  very  evident  that, 
if  he  persist  in  his  thoughtless  interference  (be  sup- 
positions as  favorable,  nay,  almost  as  romantic,  as  you 
please),  he  will  only  have  played  the  cards  of  the  Eng- 
lish, although  they  have  spoiled  their  own  game — if 
you  can  make  him  sensible  of  all  this,  you  will  easily 
be  able  to  persuade  him  that  he  will  but  be  too  fortu- 
nate in  accepting  your  mediation.  And,  although 
mediation  is  not  exactly  the  phrase  which  may  be 
employed,  because  it  does  not  exactly  square  with  the 
rule  of  proportion,  such  is  the  esteem  in  which  you  are 
held  by  the  Cabinet  of  Versailles  that,  should  this 
negotiation  once  be  committed  to  your  care,  all  diffi- 
culties will  vanish  of  themselves.  Such  a  measure, 
therefore,  would  have  the  double  advantage  of  accom- 
modating the  affair,  which  you  regard  as  the  brand 
of  discord,  and  of  teaching  the  King  to  feel  that 
he  presumes  too  much  if  he  imagines  that,  by  the  sole 
magic  of  the  abrupt  and  tudcscan  French  of  Count 
Hertzberg,  he  will  be  able  to  preserve  the  same  re- 
spect for  his  Court  which  a  succession  of  great  acts, 
heroical  prosperity,  vigilant  activity,  and  perseverance, 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      169 

even  to  a  miracle,  for  forty-six  years,  have  procured 
it;  that  he  has  need  of  a  man  whose  name  abroad  and 
whose  influence  at  home  should  attract  confidence  and 
serve  as  the  keystone  to  an  arch  which,  according  to 
its  dimensions,  has  but  little  solidity;  or,  to  speak 
without  a  metaphor,  a  kingdom,  ill-situated,  ill-con- 
stituted, ill-governed,  and  which  possesses  no  real 
strength,  except  in  opinion,  since  its  military  position 
is  wretched  and  its  resources  precarious.  For,  with 
respect  to  the  treasury,  it  will  vanish  if  a  hand  of  iron, 
yet  not  a  hand  of  avarice,  should  not  guard  it;  and, 
as  to  an  army,  who  can  be  more  convinced  than  you 
are,  that  years  scarcely  are  sufficient  for  its  formation  ; 
but  that  six  months  of  relaxed  discipline  may  degrade 
it  so  that  it  shall  no  longer  be  cognizable  ?  " 

This  discourse,  which  fixed  the  attention  of  the 
Duke,  and  which  was  particularly  intended  to  divine 
what  he  himself  imagined  he  might  be  able  to  accom- 
plish, and  what  he  might  become,  appeared  to  produce 
a  very  great  effect.  Instead  of  beginning,  as  he  al- 
ways does,  by  ambiguous  and  dilatory  phrases,  which 
may  serve  any  purpose  he  shall  please,  he  immediately 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  my  discourse,  and,  after  hav- 
ing felt  and  owned,  with  an  effusion  of  heart  and  a 
penetrating  tone,  that  I  presented  him  a  prospect  of  the 
greatest  honor  his  imagination  could  conceive,  and 
which  he  should  prefer  to  the  gaining  of  six  victories, 
he  joined  with  me  in  endeavoring  to  find  some  means 
of  making  the  overture  to  the  King. 

"  I  do  not  imagine,"  said  he,  "  my  situation  will  au- 
thorize the  attempt  without  previous  measures.  I  am 
more  afraid  of  injuring  the  cause  than  of  injuring 
myself,  but  it  is  certainly  necessary  the  project  should 
be  conveyed  to  him,  and,  should  he  afford  the  least 
opportunity,  I  will  explain  everything.  Cannot  you 
speak  to  Count  Finckenstein,  should  he  recover?" 


170      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

"  No,  for  he  strictly  confines  himself  to  his  depart- 
ment. Neither  is  this  anything  more  than  an  idea  of 
my  own,  and  of  small  diplomatic  value,  since  I  have 
no  credentials." 

"  You  have  but  few  opportunities  of  speaking  in 
private  to  Welner?  " 

"  Very  few.  Besides,  how  can  that  man  ever  be 
devoted  to  you?  He  determines  to  act  the  principal 
part  himself.  He  is  industrious  for  his  own  interest, 
being  very  sensible  that,  because  of  his  obscurity,  he 
has  an  immense  advantage  over  you,  not  to  mention 
that  he  is  the  intimate  friend  of  your  brother,  who 
does  not  wish  your  company  at  Berlin." 

In  fact,  this  brother  hates  the  Duke,  by  whom  he  is 
despised,  and  hopes  for  favor  and  influence  under  the 
reign  of  mysticism. 

We  had  proceeded  thus  far  in  our  discourse  \vhen 
the  whole  Court,  leaving  the  opera  for  supper,  and 
the  Duke  of  York,  by  entering  without  any  precursor, 
obliged  us  to  break  off.  He  has  appointed  to  meet 
me  this  morning,  the  day  of  my  departure,  at  nine 
o'clock,  and  to  him  I  am  now  going. 

The  Duke,  as  I  expected,  was  shaken  to-day  in  his 
resolution  of  having  himself  named  to  the  King.  I 
say  as  I  expected,  for  his  brilliant  imagination  and 
ambitious  energy  easily  catch  fire  at  his  first  emotions, 
although  he  should  betray  no  exterior  symptoms  ex- 
cept those  of  tranquillity.  But  the  rein  he  has  so  long 
put  upon  his  passions,  which  he  has  eternally  had  un- 
der command,  and  in  which  habit  he  has  been  most 
persevering,  reconducts  him  to  the  hesitation  of  expe- 
rience, and  to  that  superabundant  circumspection 
which  his  great  diffidence  of  mankind,  and  his  foible, 
I  mean  his  dread  of  losing  his  reputation,  incessantly 
inspire.  He  made  a  circumstantial  display  of  the  deli- 
cacy with  which  the  petty  glory,  or,  to  speak  plainly, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       171 

said  he,  the  vainglory  of  the  King  must  be  managed. 

Taking  up  the  conversation  at  the  point  where  we 
had  left  it,  he  assured  me  that,  with  respect  to  Welner, 
I  was  deceived ;  that  he  was  one  of  the  persons  in  Ber- 
lin on  whom  he  depended,  and  who  rather  wished  to 
see  him  in  power  than  any  other;  that  I  might  easily 
speak  with  him  at  the  house  of  Moulines  (his  Resi- 
dent, an  artful  man,  but  too  ostensibly  artful,  ready  to 
serve  that  he  may  better  perform  his  office  of  spy,  but 
proffering  his  services  with  too  much  facility;  ap- 
pointed to  take  part  in  the  education  of  the  Prince  of 
Prussia,  but,  hitherto,  without  any  title;  a  deserter 
from  Prince  Henry,  since  it  has  become  pretty  evident 
the  Prince  will  never  be  in  power;  inclined  to  serve 
France,  in  general,  and,  indeed  too  visibly,  for  he  is 
styled  the  Privy  Counselor  of  Comte  d'Esterno,  but, 
in  his  heart,  solely  attached  to  himself)  ;  that  Welner 
goes  there  very  often;  that  he  certainly  would  not 
speak  openly,  at  first,  but  that  he  would  at  length 
repeat  to  the  King  whatever  I  should  say. 

The  Duke  often  reiterated  that  he  thought  it  useless 
and  dangerous  for  him  to  be  named;  and,  in  fine,  al- 
though with  difficulty,  and,  as  I  may  say,  against  his 
inclination,  he  gave  me  the  true  reason.  In  a  fort- 
night, he  was  to  be  at  Berlin,  or,  perhaps,  sooner,  for 
(take  particular  notice  of  what  follows)  IT  APPEARS 

THAT    THE     HOPE    AFFORDED    BY     SlR    JAMES     HARRIS 

(the  English  Ambassador  at  The  Hague)  OF  A  POW- 
ERFUL AND  EFFICACIOUS  SUCCOR,  SHOULD  THE  KlNG 

OF  PRUSSIA  RESOLVE,  WITH  AN  ARMED  FORCE,  TO  CRE- 
ATE HIMSELF  UMPIRE  OF  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  HOLLAND, 
HAS  INSPIRED  THE  KlNG  WITH  A  WISH  TO  CONFER 

WITH  HIS  SERVANTS.  I  literally  repeat  the  words  the 
Duke  pronounced,  who  fixed  his  eyes  upon  me,  but 
whom  I  defy  not  only  to  have  observed  the  least  trait 
of  emotion  in  my  countenance,  but  still  more  not  to 


MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

have  been  struck  with  a  smile,  almost  imperceptible 
and  very  ironical,  as  if  I  had  known  and  contemned 
the  fact.  My  only  reply  at  the  end  of  his  sentence 
was,  shrugging  up  my  Moulders: 

"  There  is  little  need  I  should  remark  to  you,  mon- 
seigneur,  that  the  conquest  which  Louis  XIV.,  Tu- 
renne,  De  Conde,  De  Luxembourg,  De  Louvois,  and 
two  hundred  thousand  French,  could  not  make  of 
Holland,  will  never  be  effected  by  Prussia,  watched 
by  the  Emperor,  on  that  same  country,  now  that  it  is 
supported  by  France." 

The  Duke  therefore  is  going,  or  wishes  to  make  us 
believe  he  is  going,  to  Berlin;  where  deliberations  are 
to  be  held  on  the  propositions  of  England. 

So  be  it.  So  much  the  better.  Do  not  be  alarmed. 
The  Duke  is  rather  German  than  Prussian,  and  as 
good  a  statesman  as  he  is  a  great  warrior.  He  will 
prove  such  a  proposition  to  be  so  absurd  that  it  is 
probably  no  more  than  the  personal  conception  of  the 
audacious  and  artful  Harris,  who  wishes,  at  any  ex- 
pense, to  make  his  fortune,  and  in  a  fit  of  madness  to 
poniard  his  nation,  which  is  more  able  than  sage. 

Still,  however,  I  think  my  journey  to  Brunswick  is 
a  lucky  accident;  for  I  confess,  and  with  great  pleas- 
ure, I  found  the  principles  of  the  Duke  to  be  moderate, 
prudent,  and,  politically  speaking,  wholly  French.  I 
depicted  the  affair,  or  rather  affairs,  as  a  whole,  under 
new  points  of  view;  and  if,  as  I  persist  in  believing, 
or  rather  as  I  have  believed  more  strongly  since  I  have 
known  that  he  depends  upon  Welner  for  strengthen- 
ing his  party,  his  measures  have  long  been  taken  ( for 
Welner  has  been  a  canon  at  Halberstadt,  where  the 
regiment  of  the  Duke  remains),  if,  I  say,  the  necessity 
of  accident  should  oblige  him  to  take  the  helm,  I  shall 
have  acquired  the  greatest  advantages  to  treat  with 
and  make  him  a  party  in  our  designs. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      173 

He  has  desired  I  would  give  Comte  d'Esterno  the 
very  good  advice,  should  Count  Finckenstein  die,  or 
even  should  he  not,  to  demand  to  treat  on  the  affairs 
of  Holland,  and  on  all  that  relates  to  them,  immedi- 
ately with  his  Majesty.  This  is  the  most  certain  means 
of  battering  Hertzberg  in  breach,  who  certainly  has 
been  controverted  with  great  firmness  in  these  affairs 
by  the  King,  and  to  obtain  that  which  we  shall  seem 
only  to  expect  from  the  judgment  and  personal  will 
of  the  Monarch.  It  is  a  proceeding  which  is  success- 
ful with  all  Kings,  even  with  the  greatest.  Vanswieten 
obtained  from  Frederick  II.  himself  the  most  import- 
ant concessions  by  acting  thus;  and  this  is  certainly  a 
much  more  safe,  as  it  is  a  more  noble  mode,  than  all 
the  deceitful  efforts  which  flattery  can  employ  with 
Prince  Henry,  whose  glaring  protection  is  more  inju- 
rious to  the  French  Embassy  than  it  ever  can  be  pro- 
ductive of  good,  under  the  most  favorable  contingen- 
cies. For  I  am  not  very  unapt  to  believe,  as  the  Duke 
affirms  without  disguise,  that  this  PARTITION  PRINCE, 
were  he  master  of  affairs,  would  be  the  most  danger- 
ous of  the  enemies  of  Germanic  freedom.  I  must 
conclude,  for  I  have  not  time  to  cipher ;  the  remainder 
of  this  inestimable  conversation  will  be  sent  you  here- 
after. Inform  me,  with  all  possible  expedition,  how 
I  ought  to  act  under  the  present  circumstances,  and 
be  persuaded  that,  if  you  can  find  any  means  whatever 
of  giving  me  secret  official  credit  with  the  King,  or 
even  with  the  Duke,  you  will  act  very  wisely. 


Additional  Note 

If  you  do  not  imagine  I  am  totally  doting,  mark  me. 
I  conjure  you  to  read,  and  cause  this  to  be  read,  with 
the  utmost  attention;  and  not  to  suffer  me  to  wait  a 


174      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

single  moment  for  an  answer,  even  though  it  should 
be  absolutely  necessary,  for  this  purpose,  to  borrow 
some  few  hours  from  the  levity  of  the  country,  or  to 
be  consistent  for  a  whole  day  together. 


LETTER    XXXVIII 

BERLIN,  October  2ist,  1786. 

I  ARRIVED  at  half-past  five  in  the  morning.  The  King 
was  to  exercise  his  cavalry  at  six.  I  immediately 
mounted  my  horse,  that  I  might  discover  the  state  of 
his  health,  observe  what  aspect  he  wore,  and  if  possi- 
ble to  find  some  person  to  whom  I  might  address  my- 
self. His  health  is  good,  his  brow  cloudy;  the  troops 
were  obliged  to  wait  a  considerable  time,  and  after 
two  charges  he  very  abruptly  and  very  ridiculously 
retired.  Nothing  sufficiently  new  or  important  has 
come  to  my  knowledge  to  prevent  my  employing  the 
few  remaining  moments  before  the  departure  of  the 
courier,  and  which  are  greatly  abridged  by  your  eight 
pages  of  ciphers,  in  resuming  the  consequences  which 
I  have  drawn  from  the  very  interesting  conversation, 
an  account  of  which  I  gave  you  in  my  last  dispatch. 
It  is  impossible  I  should  send  you  a  complete  and  cir- 
cumstantial narrative  of  all  that  passed,  because  that 
the  Duke,  an  hour  after  I  had  left  him,  having  sent 
me  his  Minister  for  Fpreign  Affairs  (M.  von  Ardens- 
berg  von  Reventlau),  I  have  too  much  to  add. 
Four  particulars  appeared  to  me  evident: 
I.  That,  during  the  confidential  conference  with 
the  Duke,  a  great  complication  of  sensation,  emotion, 
and  design  was  mingled.  He  wishes  we  should  aid 
him  in  becoming  Prime  Minister  of  Prussia,  but  that 
we  should  act  with  caution.  He  is  not  convinced  that 
we  desire  to  see  him  in  that  post  (I  did  everything  in 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       175 

my  power  to  persuade  him  of  it),  yet  perfectly  satis- 
fied that  any  interference  in  the  affairs  of  Holland 
would  be  a  stupid  error,  he  is  anxious  that  Prussia 
should  act  with  propriety,  and  that,  in  this  affair  at 
least,  we  should  acquire  influence.  He,  therefore, 
while  he  informed  me,  endeavored  to  discover  if  I 
already  had  any  information,  and  whether  we  were 
determined  in  the  pursuit  of  our  projects.  To  the 
same  purport  were  the  after  commentaries  of  Ar- 
densberg,  his  deceptive  confidences,  and  Gazette  se- 
crets, the  recall,  not  only  of  M.  de  Coetloury,  but  also 
of  M.  de  Veyrac,  our  desertion  of  the  patriotic  party, 
etc.,  etc.,  to  all  which  particulars  I  replied  with  a  smile. 

2.  That  the  great  inquietude  of  the  Duke  arises 
from  not  knowing  whether  we  are  or  are  not  Aus- 
trians,  or  whether  we  are  merely  so  undecided  on  the 
subject  that  the  errors,  or  the  cold  distance,  of  the  Cab- 
inet of  Berlin  will  be  sufficient  to  induce  us,  at  the 
hazard  of  all  that  can  happen,  to  second  the  Emperor 
in  his  designs  against  Germany.    In  my  opinion,  were 
the  Duke  freed  from  his  apprehensions  on  this  very 
capital  article,  he  would  be  French,  for  he  is  strongly 
German,  and  the  English  can  only  set  Germany  in 
flames;  we  alone  have  the  power  of  maintaining  it  in 
peace.     Should  his  connections  with  England  appear 
to  be  strengthened,  it  is  but,  as  I  think,  because  he 
distrusts  the  destiny  of  Prussia,   for  he  well  knows 
that  his  English  calculations  are  rather  specious  than 
solid,  and  that  the  Prussian,  though  perhaps  some- 
what more  subaltern,  are  much  less  hazardous. 

3.  He  and  his  Minister  have  so  often  demanded, 
and  redemanded,  on  what  basis  I  imagined  the  pacifi- 
cation of  Holland  might  be  established,  that  I  have 
supposed  the  Duke  probably  thinks,  should  we  exclude 
the  Prince  of  Prussia  from  the  Nassau  alliance,  there 
might  be  a  necessity  of  choosing  his  daughter,  the 


176      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Princess  Caroline  of  Brunswick  as  a  consort  for  the 
Prussian  heir.  The  supposition  is  founded  on  cir- 
cumstances so  fugitive  that  it  is  impossible  to  give 
them  written  evidence,  or  perhaps  probable,  especially 
because,  not  having  received  any  instructions  on  such 
a  subject,  I  have  not  dared  to  make  any  advances.  I 
therefore  only  give  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  The  be- 
ing but  little  informed  of  the  affairs  of  Holland  has, 
in  every  respect,  been  highly  injurious  to  me  on  this 
occasion.  Might  I  have  spoken  more  freely  I  might 
even  have  drawn  the  well  dry.  The  only  positive  pro- 
posal which  he  made  on  the  subject  was  a  kind  of 
coalition-council  of  regency,  without  which  the  Stadt- 
holder  could  effect  nothing,  and  in  which  should  be 
included  Gislaer,  Vanberckel,  etc.,  etc.,  but  among 
whom  also  must  be  seated  M.  Van  Lynden,  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  children  of  the  Stadtholder,  etc.,  etc.  To 
my  eternal  objection,  "  How  will  you  support  those 
measures  which  shall  be  taken  under  the  pledge  of 
your  aid?"  he  continually  replied:  "Should  the  Stadt- 
holder counteract  these  arrangements,  we  will  aban- 
don him."  "  But  how  far?  "  I  replied.  "  And,  if  but 
amicably,  how  will  he  be  injured,  should  he  be  thus 
abandoned  ?  "  In  a  word,  I  continued  with  a  kind 
of  mysterious  obstinacy,  to  maintain  that  the  Stadt- 
holder would  never  be  brought  to  reason,  unless  it 
should  be  declared  to  him  that  the  King  of  Prussia 
would  forsake  his  party,  though  his  consort  might  be 
secretly  informed  such  was  not  the  real  intent. 

4.  It  appeared  to  me  that  the  Duke  was  ruminating 
on  some  grand  project  for  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Germanic  edifice,  for  this  able  Prince  perceives  the 
antique,  ruinous  building  must  be  propped  in  order  to 
be  preserved,  and  even  in  many  parts  repaired.  The 
sole  wish  which  he  clearly  testified  was  the  separation 
of  the  Electorate  of  Hanover  from  the  English  Mon- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      177 

archy,  and  the  secularization  of  certain  provinces, 
which  might  one  day  form  an  equivalent  for  Saxony. 
He  supposes  the  first  point  might  be  gained,  and  even 
without  any  great  difficulty,  should  our  politics  become 
Anglicized,  and  that  the  second  might  be  accomplished, 
though  contrary  to  the  confederation  of  the  Princes, 
because,  at  the  death  of  the  Elector  of  Mayence,  there 
will  be  an  opportunity  of  retouching  the  league,  as  well 
as  a  natural  and  proper  occasion  of  coming  to  an  ex- 
planation with  the  ecclesiastical  Princes,  who,  more 
interested  than  any  others  in  the  liberties  of  Germany, 
are  always  the  first  to  tergiversate,  etc.,  etc.  Hence, 
we  at  least  may  learn  that,  however  attached  he  may 
appear  to  be  to  the  confederation,  means  may  be  found 
of  inducing  him  to  listen  to  reason  concerning  modi- 
fications. 

The  instructions  which  are  necessary   for  me,  at 
present,  are: 

1.  Whether  we  ought,  on  this  occasion,  to  bring  him 
on  the  stage,  which  would  be  the  real  means  of  driv- 
ing him  from  it ;  and  I  certainly  do  not  think  the  lat- 
ter to  be  our  interest,  for  he  is  more  prudent,  more 
able,  and  less  susceptible  of  prejudice  and  passion,  than 
any  other  who  can  be  made  Minister. 

2.  Whether  his  party  ought  to  be  encouraged  and 
strengthened,  which  will  be  to  act  directly  contrary 
to  the  party  of  Prince  Henry;  for  the  plan  of  the 
Duke  is  exclusive;  and,  to  confess  the  truth,  he  ap- 
pears tacitly  so  convinced  that  the  Prince  can  effect 
nothing,  that  he  has  greatly  fortified  my  own  opinion 
on  this  subject. 

3.  What  is  the  degree  of  confidence  I  ought  to  place 
in  him?    For  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  the  confidence 
of,  without  placing  confidence  in,  such  a  man;  and  in 
my  apprehension  he  had  better  be  told  than  suffered 
to  divine. 


178      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Count  Finckenstein  is  recovering. 

The  King  arrived  on  the  eighteenth,  at  eight  in  the 
morning,  after  having  left  Breslau,  on  the  seventeenth, 
at  seven  in  the  morning.  This  was  incredible  dili- 
gence ;  no  person  could  keep  pace  with  him.  He  went 
on  the  same  day  to  visit  the  Queen  Dowager,  and  thus 
gave  occasion  to  attribute  the  rapidity  and  danger  of 
the  journey  to  Mademoiselle  Voss.  She  is  said  to  be 
pregnant ;  but,  in  the  first  place,  this  cannot  be  known, 
and,  in  the  second,  I  do  not  believe  the  haste  would 
have  been  so  great,  had  it  been  truth.  According  to 
report,  she  has  demanded  two  hundred  thousand 
crowns.  Should  this  be  so,  the  circle  of  her  career  will 
not  be  very  ample. 

The  King  made  a  multitude  of  nobles  in  Silesia,  as 
elsewhere.  But,  without  loading  my  letter,  the  Ga- 
zettes will  tell  you  enough  of  their  names.  He  is  to 
remain  a  week  at  Potsdam,  which  is  to  be  dedicated 
to  his  military  labors.  Great  changes  in  the  army 
are  spoken  of,  such  as  will  be  favorable  to  the  sub- 
alterns, and  the  reverse  to  the  captains. 

The  Dantzickers,  who,  according  to  appearances, 
supposed  Kings  were  hobgoblins,  were  so  enraptured 
to  meet  with  one  who  did  not  eat  their  children  that, 
in  the  excess  of  their  enthusiasm,  they  were  willing 
to  put  themselves  without  restraint  under  the  Prussian 
Government.  The  Magistrates  eluded  the  folly  of  the 
populace  as  well  as  they  could,  under  the  pretence  that 
Dantzic  was  dependent  on  Poland;  but  so  great  and 
so  violent  was  the  tumult,  that  Prussian  and  Polish 
couriers  were  sent  off.  This  event  will  no  doubt  rouse 
the  Emperor  and  Russia;  a  favorable  circumstance  to 
our  affairs  in  Holland. 

Count  Hertzberg,  who  has  indulged  himself  in  very 
headlong  acts  in  Silesia,  and  particularly  in  his  dis- 
course on  the  day  of  homage,  in  which  he  really  braved 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      179 

the  Emperor  in  a  very  indecent  manner,  as  if  it  was 
not  in  his  nature  to  accommodate  himself  to  a  peace- 
able order  of  affairs;  Hertzberg,  I  say,  has  had  the 
influence  to  retard  the  nomination  of  Alvensleben  for 
the  French  Embassy,  which  had  been  announced  by 
the  King  at  supper.  How  might  I  have  expected  to 
be  thus  deceived,  since,  when  I  sent  you  the  intelli- 
gence, I  supposed  it  to  be  an  affair  so  public  that  I 
did  not  even  write  it  in  a  cipher  ? 


LETTER    XXXIX 

October  24th,  1786. 

I  SHALL  begin  my  dispatch  with  an  anecdote,  the  truth 
of  which  is  undoubted,  and  which  appears  to  me  the 
most  decisive  of  all  I  have  learned  concerning  the  new 
reign.  Recollect  that,  in  Number  XVIII. ,  August 
2Qth,  I  wrote: 

"  The  King  apparently  intends  to  renounce  all  his 
old  habits.  This  is  a  proud  undertaking.  He  retires 
before  ten  in  the  evening,  and  rises  at  four.  Should 
he  persevere,  he  will  afford  a  singular  example  of 
habits  of  thirty  years  being  vanquished.  This  will  be 
an  indubitable  proof  of  a  grand  character,  and  show 
how  we  have  all  been  mistaken." 

When  I  spoke  thus,  I,  like  the  rest  of  the  world 
judged  by  appearances.  The  truth  is  that  at  half 
after  nine  the  King  disappeared,  and  was  supposed  to 
be  gone  to  rest;  whereas,  in  the  most  retired  apart- 
ments of  the  palace,  like  another  Sardanapalus,  he 
held  his  orgies  till  night  was  far  advanced.  Hence  it  is 
easy  to  understand  why  hours  of  business  were  obliged 
to  be  inverted.  Health  would  not  allow  him  to  be 
equally  active  upon  the  stage  and  behind  the  scenes. 


i8o      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Prince  Henry  regards  himself  as  kept  at  a  distance 
as  well  from  system  as  from  inclination.  He  is,  or 
believes  himself  to  be,  persuaded  that  the  innumerable 
follies  which  will  result  from  his  absence,  for  in  his 
opinion  the  country  without  his  aid  is  undone,  will 
occasion  recourse  to  be  had  to  his  experience  and  his 
abilities,  and  he  then  intends  to  refuse  that  tardy  suc- 
cor which  his  genius  will  be  implored  to  yield.  Even 
granting  him  the  truth  of  all  these  vain  dreams,  he 
does  not  recollect  that  the  expression  of  an  undone 
country  is  only  true  relative  to  a  certain  lapse  of  time 
and  that  therefore  in  all  probability,  he  will  be  dead 
before  the  want  of  his  assistance  will  be  perceived. 
He  comes  to  reside  four  months  at  Berlin,  there,  ac- 
cording to  him,  to  suffer  martyrdom,  that  it  may  not 
be  supposed  he  has  deserted  the  public  cause.  His 
places  of  asylum  are  afterward  to  be  Rheinsberg,  the 
Lake  of  Geneva,  and  France;  but  such  he  will  easily 
find  everywhere.  Consolation  will  not  be  wanting  to 
him,  since  consolation  can  be  found  at  playing  at 
blind  man's  buff,  or  hot  cockles,  with  actresses  more 
insipid  than  the  very  worst  of  our  provincial  com- 
panies can  afford. 

The  distribution  of  influence  continues  the  same. 
Hertzberg  violently  seizes  on  the  King,  who  probably 
has  more  esteem  for  Count  Finckenstein ;  but  whom, 
not  being  so  eternally  hunted  by  him,  he  leaves  in  a 
subaltern  degree  of  credit,  which  from  apparent  may 
become  real,  the  easy  temper  of  the  master  considered. 
The  remaining  Ministers  are  held  to  be  so  many  ciphers. 

Welner  daily  increases  his  jurisdiction,  and  Bishops- 
werder  his  influence,  but  he  does  not  appear  to  exercise 
this  influence  either  as  a  man  of  ostentation  or  a  dupe. 
He  neither  asks  for  titles,  ribbons,  nor  places.  At 
most  he  will  but  make  Ministers ;  he  will  never  be  one. 
Three  hundred  thousand  livres  for  each  of  his  daugh- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG       181 

ters,  an  excellent  fief  for  himself,  with  military  rank 
(he  is  said  to  be  a  good  officer),  these  are  what  he 
wishes,  and  these  he  most  probably  WILL  obtain.  In 
the  meantime  no  person  HAS  anything;  neither  he  nor 
Welner  nor  Goertz,  who  lives  by  borrowing. 

Bowlet? — The  influence  of  a  mason  engineer,  and 
no  other;  for  of  no  other  is  he  capable. 

Goltz  the  Tartar? — Artful,  sly,  dexterous;  perhaps 
ambitious,  but  very  selfish  and  covetous.  Money  is 
his  ruling  passion,  and  money  he  will  have.  He  will 
probably  have  the  greatest  influence  over  military  af- 
fairs, unless  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  should  take  them 
to  himself.  The  memorials  relative  to  fortification  are 
transmitted  to  him. 

Colonel  Wartensleben  is  evidently  kept  at  a  distance, 
and  probably  because  of  his  family  connections  with 
Prince  Henry;  who,  to  all  his  other  disadvantages, 
adds  that  of  having  every  person  who  is  about  the 
King  for  his  enemy. 

Subalterns  ? — Their  kingdom  is  not  come.  It  should 
seem  that  having  long,  while  Prince  of  Prussia,  been 
deceived  by  them,  the  King  knows  and  recollects  this ; 
although  from  compassion  he  wishes  not  to  notice  it, 
at  least  for  a  time. 

The  master  ? — What  is  he  ?  I  persist  in  believing  it 
would  be  rash,  at  present,  to  pronounce,  though  one 
might  be  strongly  tempted  to  reply  KING  LOG.  No 
understanding,  no  fortitude,  no  consistency,  no  in- 
dustry; in  his  pleasures  the  Hog  of  Epicurus  and  the 
hero  only  of  pride;  which,  perhaps,  we  should  rather 
denominate  confined  and  vulgar  vanity.  Such  hitherto 
have  the  symptoms  been.  And  under  what  circum- 
stances, in  what  an  age,  and  at  what  a  post?  I  am 
obliged  to  summon  all  my  reason  to  divine,  and  to 
forget  it  all  again  to  hope.  The  thing  which  is  really 
to  be  feared  is  lest  the  universal  contempt  he  must 


182      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

soon  incur  should  irritate  him,  and  deprive  him  of 
that  species  of  benevolence  of  which  he  shows  signs. 
That  weakness  is  very  formidable  which  unites  an 
ardent  thirst  after  pleasures,  destitute  of  choice  or 
delicacy,  with  the  desire  of  keeping  them  secret  in  a 
situation  where  nothing  can  be  kept  secret. 

Not  that  I  here  am  writing  a  second  part  to  Madame 
de  Sevigne;  I  do  not  speak  ill  of  Frederick  William 
because  he  overlooks  me,  as  she  spoke  well  of  Louis 
XIV.,  because  he  had  lately  danced  a  minuet  with  her. 

Yesterday,  at  the  Court  of  the  Queen,  he  three 
times  addressed  himself  to  me,  which  he  never  before 
did  in  public.  "You  have  been  at  Magdeburg  and 
Brunswick."  "Yes,  Sire."  "Were  you  pleased  with 
the  manoeuvres?"  "Sire,  I  was  in  admiration."  "I 
ask  to  be  informed  of  the  truth,  and  not  to  be  compli- 
mented." "In  my  opinion,  Sire,  there  was  nothing 
wanting  to  complete  the  splendor  of  this  exhibition, 
except  the  presence  of  your  Majesty."  "Is  the  Duke 
in  good  health  ?"  "Exceedingly  good,  Sire."  "Will  he 
be  here  soon?"  "Your  Majesty,  I  imagine,  is  the 
only  person  who  knows."  He  smiled. 

This  is  a  specimen.  You  will  well  imagine  it  was, 
personally,  very  indifferent  to  me  what  he  should  say 
to  me  before  the  whole  Court,  but  it  was  not  so  to  the 
audience;  and  I  note  this  as  having  appeared  to  make 
a  part  of  the  arranged  reparation  to  France,  which 
reparation  was  as  follows.  (From  this,  imagine  the 
wit  of  the  Court  of  Berlin;  for  I  am  convinced  there 
was  a  real  desire  of  giving  satisfaction  to  Comte 
d'Esterno.) 

First,  it  was  determined  the  Queen  should  have  a 
Lotto,  and  not  a  private  party,  in  order  that  the  com- 
pany at  her  table  might  be  the  more  numerous.  After 
all  the  Princesses,  Prince  Henry,  Prince  Frederick  of 
Brunswick,  and  the  Prince  of  Holsteinbeck,  had  been 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      183 

invited,  and  taken  their  places,  Mademoiselle  Bishops- 
werder,  the  maid  of  honor,  who  regulated  the  party, 
named  Comte  d'Esterno.  The  Queen  then,  perceiving 
Lord  Dalrymple,  beckoned  him,  and  at  the  same  mo- 
ment desired  him  to  sit  down.  The  Ambassadors  of 
France  and  England  were  the  only  foreign  ministers 
that  were  of  the  party,  so  that  Princes  Reuss  and  Ro- 
manzow  were  now  excluded,  as  they  before  had  ap- 
peared to  have  been  favored.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
imagine  anything  more  awkward,  or  more  incon- 
sistent; and  this  increases  my  regret  at  remembering 
that  Comte  d'Esterno  thought  himself  obliged  to  take 
offense  on  the  first  Court  day  of  the  Queen;  for,  after 
the  absurdity  of  yesterday,  I  can  see  no  possible  hope 
of  reparation  which  would  not  be  slovenly  daubing. 

I  am  certain,  however,  that,  far  from  wishing  to 
wound,  they  were  desirous  to  heal;  and,  to  treat  the 
subject  less  petitely,  I  am  persuaded  it  is  wrong  to  af- 
firm the  King  hates  the  French.  He  hates  nothing; 
he  scarcely  LOVES  anything.  He  has  been  told  that  he 
must  become  wholly  German,  in  order  to  pursue  a  new 
and  glorious  track,  and  he  descends  to  the  level  of  his 
nation,  instead  of  desiring  to  elevate  his  nation 
superior  to  himself.  His  conduct  is  the  result  of  the 
narrowness  of  his  views.  If  he  have  a  cordial  dislike 
to  anything,  it  is  to  men  of  wit;  because  he  imagines 
that,  in  their  company,  it  is  absolutely  requisite  he 
should  hear  wit,  and  be  himself  a  wit.  He  despairs  of 
the  one,  and  therefore  hates  the  other.  He  has  not 
yet  learned  that  men  of  wit  only  are  the  people  who  can 
appear  not  to  possess  wit.  He  seems  to  have  made  a 
determination  to  treat  all  persons  in  an  amicable  man- 
ner, without  haughtiness  or  threat.  The  Stadtholder 
always  receives  two  very  different  accounts  from  Ber- 
lin, and  does  not  fail  to  believe  that  which  flatters  his 
ruling  passion. 


184      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

A  mile  from  this  place  some  very  secret  experi- 
ments are  making  on  the  artillery,  which  are  confided 
to  Major  Tempelhoff.  A  small  number  of  superior 
officers  are  admitted;  captains  are  excluded.  The 
ground  is  covered  by  tents,  and  guarded  by  sentinels, 
night  and  day.  I  shall  endeavor  to  learn  the  particulars. 

I  forgot  to  write  you  word  from  Brunswick,  that 
the  Duchess  informed  me  the  Prince  of  Wales  was 
consulting  the  most  able  civilians  in  Europe,  to  learn 
whether,  by  marrying  a  Catholic,  the  positive  laws  of 
England,  the  laws  of  any  other  nation,  or  the  maxims 
of  the  civil  laws  of  Europe,  would  disinherit  an  heir, 
and  particularly  an  heir  apparent.  There  appears  to 
be  much  imprudence  in  this  appeal  of  an  heir  apparent 
from  the  opinions  of  Great  Britain  to  those  of  the 
civilians. 

An  anecdote  less  important,  but  perhaps  more  poign- 
ant, is  that  the  Margrave  of  Baden-Baden  has  sent  M. 
von  Edelsheim  here  as  his  complimentary  envoy,  the 
brother  of  one  of  his  ministers  who  is  called  the  Choi- 
seul  of  Carlsruhe.  The  following  is  the  history  of 
this  complimentor,  who  has  arrived  long  after  all  the 
others. 

At  a  time  when  the  prolific  virtues  of  the  father  of 
the  five  royal  children  were  held  in  doubt,  there  was  a 
wish  to  bestow  a  lover  on  a  lady  (the  afterward  di- 
vorced Queen,  banished  to  Stettin),  who,  had  they  not 
done  so,  would  have  made  bold  to  have  bestowed  one 
on  herself.  The  care  of  choosing  was  committed  to 
the  brothers  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  They  de- 
scended a  little  too  low,  and  in  consequence  an  eye  was 
cast  on  Edelsheim,  who  was  publicly  enough  charged 
with  this  great  work.  He  was  afterward  sent  to  Paris 
to  execute  another  commission,  of  which  he  acquitted 
himself  ill.  I  have  been  assured  he  was  thrown  into 
the  Bastille.  On  his  return  he  was  disgraced,  but 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      185 

afterward  employed,  and  sent  to  various  courts  of 
Germany  in  1778.  And  this  is  the  man  whom,  in  his 
high  wisdom,  the  Margrave  selected  for  his  envoy  to 
the  King  of  Prussia.  The  Monarch  himself,  when  he 
saw  him,  could  not  forbear  laughing. 

POSTSCRIPT. — Yesterday,  at  eleven  in  the  morning, 
the  King,  hidden  in  a  gray  coach,  went  alone  to  Mon- 
Bijou,  where  he  remained  an  hour,  whence  he  returned 
in  a  great  glow.  What  does  this  mean?  Is  this  the 
triumph  of  the  Lady  Voss?  It  is  impossible  at  present 
to  know.  Neither  has  anything  transpired  concerning 
the  letters  which  M.  von  Calenberg  has  brought  from 
the  Stadtholder. 

Muller  and  Landsberg,  private  secretaries  of  the 
Cabinet,  demanded  their  dismission  with  considerable 
chagrin,  their  services  not  being  apparently  necessary, 
said  they,  since  they  were  not  thought  worthy  of  being 
instructed  concerning  the  answers  they  had  to  return, 
and  since  the  letters  were  sent  ready  composed  to  the 
King.  They  remain  in  their  places,  and  the  accommo- 
dation was  effected  by  Bishopswerder.  It  appears  that 
he  is  in  league  with  Welner  against  Hertzberg,  which 
he  does  not  take  any  great  precautions  to  conceal.  The 
King  will  not  go  to  Potsdam  to  make  the  military  ar- 
rangements before  Friday,  in  order,  as  it  is  supposed, 
to  give  the  Duke  time  to  arrive.  The  attempting  to 
account  for  all  the  caprices  of  kings  is  a  strange  kind 
of  frenzy. 

LETTER  XL 

October  28th,   1786. 

I  PASSED  yesterday  evening  with  Prince  Henry.  The 
King  had  dedicated  almost  the  whole  afternoon  of 
the  day  before  to  this  palace,  for,  after  having  been 


1 86      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

with  the  Prince,  he  visited  the  Princess,  where  he 
played,  and  drank  tea  with  Mademoiselle  Voss,  among 
other  ladies  of  honor.  This  kind  of  reconciliation  with 
the  Prince  (which,  however,  is  nothing  more  than  a 
simple  act  of  courtesy,  as  is  evident  from  the  succeed- 
ing visit  to  the  Princess,  whom  the  Prince  regards  as 
his  most  cruel  enemy),  this  reconciliation  (which  is 
nearly  an  accurate  phrase,  for  the  coolness  between 
them  was  very  great)  appears  to  be  the  political  work 
of  Welner,  who  wishes,  in  his  struggle  against  Hertz- 
berg,  if  not  the  support,  at  least  the  neutrality  of  the 
Prince ;  and  the  hatred  of  this  feeble  mortal  is  so  blind 
in  effect  that,  united  with  the  hopes  of  his  ambition, 
of  which  he  is  not  easy  to  be  cured,  it  was  sufficient  to 
induce  him  once  more  meanly  to  offer  his  services  to 
the  King,  consequently  to  cast  himself,  if  possible,  to 
a  greater  distance.  Not  that  he  himself  places  any 
great  dependence  on  this  type  of  peace,  which  is  the 
more  suspicious  because  it  happened  on  the  eve  of  a 
succeeding  fortnight's  absence,  after  wrhich  it  will  not 
be  difficult  to  find  pretenses  not  to  meet  again  for  some 
time  longer,  should  the  King  think  proper.  But  the 
Prince  imagines  his  enemy  dead,  and  he  enjoys  him- 
self, and  chuckles  like  a  child,  without  recollecting  that 
this  is  the  very  way  to  promote  his  resurrection. 

In  reality,  Count  Hertzberg  appears  to  have  cast  his 
own  die.  He  had  a  tolerable  run  of  ill  luck  in  Silesia, 
— abrupt  disputes,  contradictions,  the  chagrin  of  see- 
ing the  name  of  the  brother  of  his  former  mistress 
struck  off  from  the  list  of  Counts ;  he  ought,  even  while 
in  Prussia,  to  have  perceived  that  his  sounding 
speeches  gave  no  pleasure.  On  the  day  of  receiving 
homage,  he  read  over  the  names  of  the  Counts,  and 
when  he  came  to  his  own  stopped,  that  the  King, 
seated  on  his  throne,  might  pronounce  it  himself,  and 
the  Monarch  was  malicious  enough  to  remain  silent, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      187 

so  that  the  inauguration  of  Count  Hertzberg  did 
not  take  place  till  the  day  after,  and  in  the  ante- 
chamber. 

But  what  probably  has  occasioned  his  downfall,  if 
fallen  he  has,  was  his  haughty  behavior  to  Welner, 
the  least  forgetful  of  men,  and  who,  amid  his  ambi- 
tious projects,  needed  no  such  cause  of  rancor  to  oc- 
casion him  to  hate  and  injure  the  Minister.  Hertzberg 
has  made  him  wait  for  hours  in  his  antechamber,  has 
received  and  kept  him  standing,  spoken  to  him  a  very 
short  time,  and  dismissed  him  with  airs  which  are  only 
proper  to  give  offense.  Welner  vowed  his  destruction, 
and  he  is  seconded  by  Bishopswerder. 

Such  at  least  are  probabilities,  according  to  every 
acceptation  of  the  word  influence;  and  I  should  have 
divined  them  to-day  from  the  very  politeness  of  Hertz- 
berg. He  gave  a  grand  dinner  to  foreigners,  among 
whom,  for  once,  Comte  d'Esterno  and  myself  were 
invited.  His  attention  seemed  all  directed  to  us.  Such 
proceedings  are  awkward  and  mean.  This  mixture  of 
stiffness  and  twining  is  a  strange  singularity  by  which 
half-formed  characters  ruin  themselves.  Machiavel 
rightly  affirms  that  "all  the  evil  in  the  world  originates 
in  not  being  sufficiently  good,  or  sufficiently  wicked." 
Whether  my  conjectures  are  or  are  not  true,  still  it  is 
certain  Count  Hertzberg  has  been  very  dryly  and  posi- 
tively forbidden  all  interference,  direct  or  indirect,  in 
the  affairs  of  Holland,  from  which  country  Callenberg 
does  not  appear  to  have  brought  any  remarkable  intel- 
ligence. He  is  really  come  to  obtain  admission  into 
the  Prussian  service,  and  his  letters  were  only  recom- 
mendatory. 

It  is  not  the  influence  of  Hertzberg  that  prevents 
the  recall  of  Thulemeyer,  but  that  of  Count  Fincken- 
stein.  The  mother  of  the  envoy  has  had  a  lasting  and 
tender  friendship  for  the  Count;  and  indeed  it  was 


1 88      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

her  husband  who  procured  the  Count  a  place  in  the 
Ministry.  In  fact  it  appears  to  me  to  be  a  matter  of 
little  moment,  for  the  present,  whether  Thulemeyer 
should  or  should  not  be  recalled.  His  embassy  ended 
on  the  arrival  of  Goertz,  nor  do  I  believe  he  sends  any 
dispatches. 

The  destiny  of  Launay  was  decided  the  day  before 
yesterday  by  a  very  severe  letter.  He  is  no  longer 
allowed  to  act,  and  they  offer  him  a  pension  of  only 
two  thousand  crowns  to  retire  on,  with  the  proviso  that 
he  shall  remain  in  the  Prussian  States.  It  must  be 
owned  his  estimate  is  a  chef-d'oeuvre  of  egotism  and 
folly,  and  that  he  might  be  completely  refuted; 
although  the  memorial  of  the  commissioners  who  have 
undertaken  his  refutation  is  a  pitiable  performance. 
He  has  proved  two  facts,  the  one  of  which  is  curious, 
and  the  other  decisive  against  his  own  administration. 
First,  that,  in  the  space  of  nineteen  years,  he  has 
brought  into  the  King's  coffers  a  surplus  of  42,689,000 
crowns  of  the  empire,  exclusive  of  the  fixed  revenue, 
which  annually  amounted  to  five  millions  of  crowns. 
What  dreadful  oppression!  The  second,  that  the  col- 
lecting of  the  customs  is  an  annual  expense  of  more 
than  1,400,000  crowns,  which,  on  a  first  view  of  the 
business  to  be  transacted,  and  of  local  circumstances, 
might  at  least  be  reduced  two-thirds.  But  not  one 
man  is  at  this  moment  employed  who  appears  to  under- 
stand the  elements  of  his  profession.  It  is  a  fact  that 
they  have  not  yet  been  able  to  make  any  general  state- 
ment of  debtor  and  creditor,  nor  to  class  any  single 
branch  of  the  revenue;  so  that  there  is  not  one 
object,  not  even  the  King's  dinner,  which  is  yet  regu- 
lated. 

This  is  a  chaos,  but  it  is  a  chaos  at  rest.  Finance, 
military  and  civil,  are  each  alike  in  a  state  of  stagna- 
tion ;  and  such  a  state  in  general  would  indeed  be  better 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      189 

than  the  rage  of  governing  too  much,  in  a  country 
with  a  fixed  constitution,  in  which  individual  prudence 
might  preponderate  over  public  folly.  But  men  are 
here  so  accustomed  to  see  their  King  active  or  rather 
exclusively  active;  they  are  so  little  in  the  habit  of 
doing  what  he  leaves  undone,  though,  having  once 
issued  his  orders,  they  very  well  understand  the  art  of 
deceiving  him;  they  even  think  so  little  of  laying  any 
proposals  before  him,  that  the  stagnation  is  a  real  clog 
on  the  machine.  But  how  injurious  may  this  clog 
become  in  a  kingdom  which  rests  on  so  brittle  a  basis, 
though  inhabited,  indeed,  by  a  people  so  tardy,  so 
heavy,  so  unimpassioned,  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  a 
sudden  shock  should  happen?  The  vessel,  however, 
must  continue  to  sink,  more  or  less  sensibly,  if  some 
pilot  does  not  come  on  board,  although  she  will  not 
suddenly  founder. 

Wait  we  must;  it  would  be  an  act  of  temerity  to 
attempt  to  look  into  this  darkness  visible.  I  repeat, 
we  must  wait  before  we  can  know  whether  the  King 
will,  or  will  not,  have  the  courage  to  take  a  Prime 
Minister.  Such  an  appointment  would  be  equal  to  a 
revolution;  and,  well  or  ill,  would  change  the  whole 
face  of  affairs. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  is  the  person  who  ought  to 
be  narrowly  watched,  if  we  wish  to  foretell  the  fate  of 
this  Government;  although  he  should  not  be  the  per- 
son appointed,  and  should  there  be  any  appearance  of 
a  shipwreck.  This  Prince  is  only  fifty,  and  is  indis- 
putably ambitious.  Should  he  ever  resolve  on  hazard- 
ous and  daring  designs,  and  should  he  no  longer  de- 
pend on  Prussia,  he  would  shake  all  the  German 
combinations  as  the  north  wind  shakes  the  reed.  His 
manners  and  his  prudence  are  incompatible  with  the 
English  party.  Neither  can  England  act  on  the  Con- 
tinent, except  accidentally.  But  I  can  imagine  circum- 


190      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

stances  under  which  I  think  him  capable  of  going  over 
to  the  Emperor,  who  would  receive  him  with  open 
arms.  And  what  might  not  the  Duke  of  Brunswick 
perform  at  the  head  of  the  Austrian  army  ?  How  great 
would  be  the  danger  of  Germany!  How  vast  a 
prospect  for  him  whose  passions  might  be  unbridled, 
should  he  be  obliged  to  act  a  desperate  part;  for  he 
almost  hates  his  sons,  unless  it  be  his  youngest,  who 
promises  not  to  be  so  stupid  as  the  others. 

The  best  manner  of  securing  him  has  been  missed, 
which  would  have  been  to  place  him  unconditionally 
at  the  head  of  the  Germanic  Confederation.  Should 
he  desert  it,  I  greatly  fear  he  will  be  its  destroyer. 

Baron  H is  arrived,  and  has  not  been  received 

by  the  King  in  a  manner  equal  to  his  expectations.  A 
certain  musical  demoniac,  named  Baron  Bagge,  is 
also  at  Berlin.  I  imagine  they  are  all  in  too  much 
haste.  The  King  is  in  the  high  fervor  of  the  German 
system,  and  anxious  to  have  it  known  that  the  ship  is 
to  be  differently  trimmed.  Since  his  accession,  the 
banker  of  La  Valmour  has  received  orders  to  send  in 
his  account,  that  it  may  be  discharged,  and  to  stop  all 
future  payments  to  that  girl  who  had  formerly  so 
much  power  over  him.  It  is  said  he  is  to  return  from 
Potsdam  on  the  third,  and  I  imagine  it  will  be  found 
that  he  goes  there  to  the  chase.  The  Prince  of  Dessau 
is  to  arrive  there  to-morrow  evening,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  there  is  to  be  a  calling  of  the  faithful. 


LETTER  XLI 

October  soth,  1786. 

AT  the  request  of  Struensee,  I  have  sent  him  the  fol- 
lowing information :    First,  on  the  possibility  of  public 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      191 

loans  to  France,  and,  secondly,  on  the  treaty  of  com- 
merce, and  on  the  manner  of  placing  money  in  the 
French  funds. 

There  are  two  species  of  public  funds  in  France : 
those  the  interest  of  which  is  fixed  and  certain,  and 
which  does  not  vary  with  circumstances;  and  those 
which  produce  dividends,  or  a  participation  of  gain, 
subject  to  vicissitudes  and  to  rise  or  fall. 

The  public  and  favored  companies  principally  ap- 
pertain to  this  last  class, — such  as  the  Caisse  d'Es- 
compte,  the  Paris  waterworks,  and  French  East  India 
Company;  the  prices  of  stock  in  which  have  succes- 
sively, or  all  together,  been  agitated  by  every  frenzy 
of  stockjobbing.  All  true  estimate  of  their  real  value 
and  their  effective  gains  has  been,  as  it  were,  lost,  that 
men  might  yield  to  the  rage  of  gambling  in  funds 
which  never  could  be  reduced  to  any  exact  valuation. 
These  jobbers  have  been  less  occupied  by  endeavors 
to  reduce  the  price  of  shares  to  their  true  value  than 
artfully  to  affect  their  price,  by  disputes  and  pretended 
reasonings  on  the  impossibility  of  delivering  all  the 
shares  that  had  been  sold.  Monopoly  has  succeeded 
to  monopoly,  association  to  association ;  some  to  raise, 
others  to  lower  the  price ;  to  effect  which  every  imagi- 
nary species  of  deceit,  cabal,  and  cunning  has  been 
practiced;  and,  though  this  gambling  mania  has  not 
continued  more  than  two  years,  many  people  have 
already  been  ruined,  and  many  others  dishonored,  by 
taking  shelter  under  the  laws  to  elude  their  engage- 
ments. 

The  other  species  of  public  funds,  and  the  only  one 
perhaps  which  merits  the  name,  consists  in  contracts, 
and  royal  effects,  properly  so  called.  The  contracts 
yield  an  interest  of  from  five  and  a  half  to  six  per 
cent  at  the  utmost.  One  only  fund,  the  stock  of  which 
is  paid  at  sight,  is  more  productive.  This  is  the  loan 


192      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  millions.  Shares  are 
sold,  at  present,  at  an  advance  of  but  two  per  cent, 
although  there  are  nine  months'  interest  due,  and  the 
real  interest  amounts  to  nearly  seven  per  cent.  The 
stock  cannot  remain  long  at  this  price,  and,  whether 
the  purchasers  wish  to  be  permanent  stockholders,  or 
only  to  speculate  for  some  months,  this  loan  merits  a 
preference  to  any  other.  Its  advantages  annually  in- 
crease, since,  while  receiving  uniform  interest  of  five 
per  cent,  a  part  of  the  capital  is  to  be  periodically  re- 
paid. In  January,  1787  and  1788,  these  reimburse- 
ments are  to  be  made  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  per  cent  on 
the  capital  advanced.  They  are  afterward  to  proceed 
to  pay  off  twenty  per  cent,  and  at  intervals  of  three 
years  to  twenty-five,  thirty-five,  forty,  forty-five,  fifty 
per  cent,  till,  in  the  last  year,  the  whole  will  be  repaid, 
independent  of  the  interest  of  five  per  cent  to,  and  in- 
cluding, the  years  of  reimbursement,  the  last  year  of 
payment  only  excepted.  The  stockholders  may  either 
have  bills  payable  at  sight,  according  to  the  original 
plan,  or,  if  they  please,  may  receive  contracts  in  their 
stead,  without  any  change  taking  place  in  the  order 
of  reimbursement. 

Those  who  buy  in  with  the  design  of  remaining 
stockholders,  must  prefer  contracts,  because  these  are 
liable  neither  to  be  stolen,  burned,  nor  destroyed. 
Those  who  purchase  stock  on  speculation,  intending  to 
sell  out,  should  rather  receive  bills,  because  the  transfer 
would  then  be  subject  to  none  of  the  delays  of 
office. 

We  ought  to  regard  the  public  loans  of  France  as  at 
an  end,  all  the  debts  of  the  war  being  paid,  so  that  if 
any  loans  henceforth  should  take  place,  they  can  prob- 
ably be  only  for  small  sums  to  pay  off  the  annual  reim- 
bursements with  which  the  finances  will,  for  five  or 
six  years  to  come,  be  burdened.  But  these  loans  can 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      193 

only  offer  trifling  advantages  to  the  moneyed  men. 
The  rate  of  interest  must  have  a  natural  tendency  to 
fall,  because  of  the  general  prosperity  of  the  kingdom, 
and,  consequently,  the  loan  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  millions  presents  the  probability  of  rising  in  price, 
which  rise  is  each  day  liable  to  take  place,  and  which 
variation  cannot  be  profited  by,  unless  stock  is  im- 
mediately purchased.  This  probability  might  even  be 
called  a  certainty,  when,  on  the  one  part,  we  recollect 
the  nature  of  the  loan,  which  is  the  most  wise,  solid, 
and  advantageous  to  the  moneyed  men,  and  in  every 
respect  the  best  that  has  ever  been  imagined;  and,  on 
the  other,  the  concurrence  of  circumstances,  which,  all 
uniting,  lead  us  to  presume  that  the  credit  of  France, 
and  the  public  confidence  in  its  royal  effects,  must  daily 
increase. 


ON  THE  COMMERCIAL  TREATY 

It  appears  that  the  Treaty  of  Commerce  is  highly 
acceptable  to  both  parties.  The  English  perceive  in  it 
a  vast  market  for  their  woolen  cloths,  wrought  cottons, 
and  hardware ;  we  depend  on  the  great  exportation  of 
our  wines,  linens,  and  cambrics,  and  probably  both 
nations  are  right,  but  under  certain  modifications,  the 
value  of  which  can  only  be  taught  by  time. 

The  Treaty,  in  general,  seems  to  have  held  a  prin- 
ciple as  sacred  which  has  too  often  been  misunder- 
stood, which  is,  that  moderate  duties  are  the  sole 
means  of  preserving  the  revenue,  and  preventing  illicit 
trade.  Thus  the  English  merchandise  is  rated  at  from 
ten  to  twelve  per  cent.  Should  the  advantage  for  some 
years  appear  to  be  wholly  on  the  side  of  the  English, 
still  it  is  evident  the  French  trade  will  gain  ground, 
since  nothing  can  prevent  our  manufacturers  gradually 


194      MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

imitating  the  products  of  English  industry,  whereas, 
Nature  having  refused  soil  and  climate  to  England, 
our  wines  cannot  be  made  there,  and,  in  this  respect, 
the  English  must  always  depend  on  us. 

True  it  is  that  the  wines  of  Portugal  will  continue 
to  be  drunk  in  England  in  great  quantities,  but  the 
rising  generation  will  prefer  the  wines  of  France. 
Of  this,  Ireland  affords  a  proof,  in  which  ten  times 
the  quantities  of  French  wines  are  drunk  in  com- 
parison with  the  wines  of  Portugal.  The  French 
wines,  henceforth,  are  only  to  pay  duties  equivalent  to 
those  which  the  wines  of  Portugal  at  present  pay  in 
England,  that  is  to  say,  forty  pounds  sterling  per  ton, 
or  about  one  shilling  per  bottle.  Our  wines  of  Medoc 
may  there  be  sold  cheap,  and  will  be  preferred  to  the 
wines  of  Portugal.  The  English,  it  is  true,  are  al- 
lowed to  lower  the  present  duties  on  the  wines  of 
Portugal,  but  they  will  fear  to  diminish  them  too 
sensibly,  lest  they  should  injure  the  revenue  arising 
from  their  beer,  which  is  the  most  essential  of  their 
excise  duties,  and  annually  produces  more  than  1,800,- 
ooo  pounds  sterling. 

The  Treaty,  in  fact,  will  incontestably  be  advantage- 
ous to  both  countries.  It  will  procure  an  increase  of  en- 
joyment to  the  people,  and  of  revenue  to  their  respect- 
ive monarchs.  Its  tendency  is  to  render  the  English 
and  French  more  friendly,  and  in  general  it  is  founded 
on  those  liberal  principles  which  are  worthy  two  such 
great  nations,  and  of  which  France  ought  to  be  first 
to  give  an  example  since,  of  all  countries  on  earth,  it 
would,  from  its  natural  advantages,  be  the  greatest 
gainer,  should  such  principles  be  universally  established 
in  the  commercial  world. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      195 
LETTER  XLII 

October   3ist,    1786. 

THEY  have  also  affirmed  (that  is,  Prince  Ferdinand 
has)  that  it  was  I  who  refuted  the  estimate  of  Launay. 
From  that  moment  I  have  daily  left  my  card  at  the 
house  of  Launay,  and  have  declared  that  to  torment 
people  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  thing  so  unnecessary  that, 
exclusive  of  the  cowardice  of  wantonly  striking  a  man 
under  misfortunes,  none  but  a  fool  could  have  invented 
so  silly  and  malicious  a  tale. 

On  the  reply  of  the  refutation  of  his  estimate,  Lau- 
nay received  so  severe  a  letter  that  he  immediately  de- 
manded permission  to  retire.  The  King  answered  this 
should  be  granted  him,  when  the  commission  should 
have  no  more  need  of  his  assistance. 

It  is  loudly  rumored  here,  after  having  been  long 
whispered,  that  a  treaty  is  concerting  between  Russia, 
Austria,  and  Prussia;  the  pretext  for  which  is  the 
pacification  of  Holland.  I  own  that  at  present  I  do 
not  see  the  least  probability  of  truth  in  the  report. 
Neither  the  King,  nor  any  one  of  his  Ministers,  ap- 
pears to  me  to  have  an  understanding  sufficiently  en- 
larged for  such  a  project.  Not  but  we  most  assuredly 
ought  to  pay  very  serious  attention  to  the  rumor. 

As  I  was  finishing  my  phrase,  I  received  information 
that  Dr.  Roggerson,  the  favorite  physician  of  the 
Czarina,  the  same  whom  she  sent  to  Vienna,  and  of 
whom  I  spoke  to  you  in  my  former  dispatches,  is  just 
arrived.  Now  or  never  is  the  time  for  an  EYE  WAR; 
but  this  kind  of  tilting  can  be  performed  only  by  am- 
bassadors; they  alone  possess  the  means,  were  we  to 
exclude  every  other  except  the  all-puissance  of  supper 
parties,  which  are  the  very  sieves  of  secrets. 

1 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


196      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Roggerson  returns  from  England  by  way  of  Am- 
sterdam, and  Berlin  is  directly  in  his  road.  Still,  I 
repeat,  we  ought,  watchfully  to  observe  Vienna  and 
Petersburg, — convinced  as  I  am  at  present  that  the 
Emperor  is  only  spreading  nets  for  this  country.  I 
must  further  add  that  I  imagine  I  very  clearly  perceive 
the  Gallomania  of  Prince  Henry  is  on  the  decline. 
But  this  to  him  will  be  of  no  advantage,  for  it  is  to 
oppose  the  Prince  that  they  are  Anti-Gallican  here. 
It  is  not  to  oppose  the  French  that  he  is  opposed. 
Prince  Henry  is  turbulent,  false,  and  perfidious.  He 
formerly  was  successful  at  Petersburg.  He  may  flat- 
ter himself  that,  should  there  be  any  need  of  that 
Court,  he  may  be  employed;  and  never  will  there  be 
a  better  resemblance  of  the  morality  of  the  late 
Erostratus. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  arrived  on  Saturday  at 
Potsdam.  That  is  a  kind  of  secret  at  Berlin.  Nothing 
had  been  done  on  Sunday,  except  listening  to  music 
and  looking  at  reviews;  but  two  couriers  were  cer- 
tainly sent  off,  from  the  Sunday  to  the  Tuesday.  I 
know  nothing  more.  I  am  in  want  of  pecuniary  and 
other  aid.  The  domestic  disorder  is  a  thing  so  incon- 
venient, some  of  the  favorites  are  so  interested  to  put 
an  end  to  it,  or  to  certain  parts  of  it,  since  they  have 
not  a  sixpence,  and  it  is  carried  to  such  excess  in  the 
palace,  that  I  cannot  help  supposing  there  is  some 
grand  object  which  employs  the  whole  attention  of 
the  King,  and  the  few  moments  he  can  prevail  on 
himself  to  dedicate  to  business. 

There  has  been  a  quarrel  in  the  household,  in  which 
the  master  has  committed  some  violence  on  himself. 
One  of  his  favorite  ushers,  Rumpel,  a  man  naturally 
very  insolent,  insomuch  that  at  a  review  he  once  struck 
a  gentleman  without  any  serious  notice  being  taken  of 
the  affair,  has  had  a  very  passionate  brawl  with  Lin- 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      197 

denau,  the  new  first  usher,  who  is  a  Saxon,  and  the 
friend  of  Bishopswerder,  who  procured  him  the  place. 
Lindenau  put  the  insolent  favorite  under  arrest,  and 
gave  an  account  of  his  proceeding  to  the  King.  The 
Monarch  started  with  astonishment;  but,  after  a  mo- 
mentary silence,  he  not  only  approved  of  the  act  of 
Lindenau,  but  confirmed  the  arrest  in  a  very  cool  man- 
ner, and  for  an  indefinite  term.  By  this  he  has  given 
some  energy  to  the  head  servants,  and  somewhat  tem- 
pered the  insolence  of  the  subalterns. 

Discord,  on  the  other  hand,  reigns  among  the  favor- 
ites. Goltz  and  Bishopswerder  had  a  very  serious  dis- 
pute in  Silesia.  The  King,  having  made  some  new 
appointments,  in  favor  of  I  know  not  whom,  Goltz 
kept  so  cool  a  silence  that  the  King  insisted  on  know- 
ing the  reason  of  this  tacit  disapprobation.  Goltz  re- 
plied :'  "  Your  Majesty  is  overflowing  the  land  with 
Saxons,  as  if  you  had  not  a  subject  of  your  own." 
Bishopswerder  came  in,  a  few  moments  afterward, 
and  proposed  another  Saxon,  on  which  the  King  very 
abruptly  exclaimed,  "  Zounds !  you  never  propose  any- 
body but  Saxons."  Probably,  in  the  explanation  which 
succeeded  this  pettishness,  the  King  told  what  Goltz 
had  said.  Certain  it  is  that  Bishopswerder  and  Goltz 
have  been  very  warm.  The  wall  is  whitewashed  over, 
but  we  may  with  good  reason  conclude  that  Goltz,  the 
Tartar,  and  Bishopswerder,  the  debonair,  neither  do, 
nor  ever  will,  cordially  esteem  each  other.  It  was  the 
latter  who  brought  the  insignificant  Duke  of  Holstein- 
beck  hither,  and  who  is  endeavoring  to  advance  him 
to  the  command  of  the  guards,  that  he  may  deprive 
the  former  favorite,  Wartensleben,  of  the  place. 

To  descend  a  step  lower,  it  appears  that  Chauvier 
is  regaining  credit.  He  imagined,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  reign,  that  the  surliness  of  the  secretary  would 
promote  his  interest.  It  did  the  reverse.  Apparently 


198 

he  has  altered  his  route,  and  is  in  the  pandar  depart- 
ment, submits  to  subaltern  complaisance,  and  even  to 
act  the  spy,  in  which  he  finds  his  account. 

The  King  returns  on  Wednesday,  as  it  is  said,  to 
depart  again  on  Thursday.  I  cannot  understand  what 
this  means,  unless  it  should  be  to  keep  Prince  Henry 
at  a  distance,  without  openly  quarreling.  The  Prince 
will  remain  ignorant  of  affairs  by  not  knowing  where 
to  find  the  King.  The  Minister,  Blumenthal,  has 
rather  resolutely  demanded  his  dismission,  complain- 
ing that  his  Majesty,  having  bedizened  some  of  his 
servants,  who  were  not  of  so  long  standing  as  him- 
self, with  ribbons,  had  not  bestowed  on  him  that  mark 
of  honor.  His  retreat,  which  is  not  granted,  is  a  mat- 
ter of  little  moment;  though  it  is  affirmed  the  King 
could  not  be  better  pleased,  for  he  would  then  have  a 
place  to  bestow.  I  have  heard,  and  from  a  good  quar- 
ter, that  this  place,  or  rather  a  place  of  principal  trust, 
will  very  soon  be  given  to  a  remarkable  man  to  the 
dissatisfaction  of  everybody.  I  can  neither  divine 
who  this  man  is,  nor  believe  the  King  has  the  fortitude 
to  dissatisfy  everybody.  The  credit  of  Hertzberg, 
if  not  ruined,  is  still  on  the  decline.  It  is  certain  that 
he  has  not  dined  with  the  King  since  the  return  from 
Silesia. 

Welner  is  at  Potsdam. 

Do  not  suffer  your  Ambassador  to  persuade  you  that 
there  is  nothing  to  apprehend  from  Austria ;  I  am  con- 
vinced the  King  is  undetermined,  that  the  Emperor  is 
sounding  him,  and  that  there  is  something  in  agitation 
with  which  we  are  unacquainted.  For  my  own  part, 
nothing  would  appear  less  extraordinary  to  me.  I 
own  I  am  surprised  at  all  the  intelligence  I  obtain, 
however  little  that  may  be.  But  nothing  can  here  be 
kept  secret  from  a  French  Ambassador,  who  is  in 
want  of  neither  money  nor  industry. 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      199 

I  have  just  been  told  that  General  Rodig  has  sent  a 
challenge  to  Count  Boertz.  I  have  not  learned  what 
was  the  cause  of  quarrel,  and  the  truth  of  the  news 
scarcely  appears  to  be  probable;  yet  it  comes  from  a 
person  who  should  know,  though  he  is  a  young  man. 


LETTER  XLIII 

November  4th,    1786. 

A  NEW  letter,  excessively  rigorous,  and  tolerably  in- 
coherent, has  suspended  Launay  in  the  exercise  of  all 
his  functions.  Yet  I  scarcely  can  believe  it  is  in- 
tended to  sully  the  beginning  of  a  reign  by  useless 
cruelty.  The  victim  is  immolated  to  the  nation  the 
moment  the  man  is  no  longer  in  place.  The  remainder 
would  only  be  the  explosion  of  gratuitous  hatred, 
since  the  unfortunate  Launay  no  longer  can  give  um- 
brage to  anyone.  Verder  is  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
customs.  We  shall  see  what  the  new  established  order 
will  produce;  or  rather,  whether  they  will  know  how 
to  establish  any  new  order.  In  the  meantime  the  dis- 
charge of  forty  Frenchmen  is  determined  on,  in  petto. 
But  I  cannot  perceive  that  these  kind  of  Sicilian  ves- 
pers are  likely  even  to  gain  the  public  favor.  The 
theater  here  is  not  sufficiently  vast  to  conceal  from  the 
pit  what  is  passing  behind  the  scenes.  There  is 
scarcely  any  illusion  possible,  except  that  of  actually 
doing  good.  I  shall  endeavor  to  save  Launay,  by 
causing  Prince  Henry  to  say,  who  has  at  least  pre- 
served the  privilege  of  uttering  all  he  pleases,  that 
hitherto  the  King  has  really  acted  in  this  business  as 
the  man  of  the  nation ;  but  that,  should  he  go  further, 
he  will  become  the  man  of  the  persecutors  of  Launay ; 
that  there  are  public  murmurs  which  affirm  he  has 
espoused  their  hatred,  etc.  Certain  it  is  that  the  repe- 


200      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS   OF 

tition  of  the  self-important  /,  in  Launay's  estimate, 
has  put  the  King  out  of  humor,  and  even  in  a  passion. 

His  Majesty  arrived  yesterday,  and  returned  this 
morning.  This  seems  to  be  an  episode  in  the  romance 
of  Voss  which  approaches  the  denouement,  and  which 
is  suspended  to  obtain  the  three  following  articles : 
(i)  two  hundred  thousand  crowns  for  her  portion. 
The  King  refuses  (or  will  only  count  out  a  thousand 
crowns  per  month,  so  that  the  payment  will  not  be 
completed  in  less  than  sixteen  years  and  eight  months, 
which  will  render  the  sum  a  little  problematic)  ;  (2) 
a  left-handed  marriage  (to  this  he  consents,  but  the 
lady  finds  that  a  very  equivocal  kind  of  circumstance )^ 
or  (3)  to  marry  her  to  a  man  who  shall  depart  on  the 
bridal  day  as  Ambassador  to  Sweden  (there  is  no 
certainty  of  finding  a  man  sufficiently  base,  in  that 
class  which  should  rank  him  among  ambassadors). 
Mademoiselle  avows  that,  without  being  amorous,  she 
is  rendered  exceedingly  sensible  by  a  three  years'  siege. 
But  what  shall  become  of  her,  of  her  uncle,  her  fam- 
ily? What  place  shall  she  hold  in  the  public  opinion, 
in  city,  and  Court?  Such  is  the  purport  of  the  nego- 
tiation conducted  by  Bishopswerder.  I  do  not  sup- 
pose him  young  enough  to  be  the  King's  substitute; 
so  that  the  speculation  does  not  appear  to  be  very 
certain. 

As  to  the  King,  there  is,  indeed,  some  little  curiosity, 
a  degree  of  obstinacy,  and  somewhat  of  vanity,  but 
still  greater  want  of  a  companion  with  whom  he  may 
be  as  much  of  a  gossip,  may  loll,  and  dress  as  slovenly 
as  he  pleases.  The  circumstance  that  shackles  the 
negotiation  is  that  Rietz  and  her  tribe  must  evacuate 
the  country,  and  the  King  is  exceedingly  attached  to 
her  son.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  add  to  all  this 
that  Mademoiselle  Voss  relates  herself  all  the  tales 
repeated  in  public,  and  even  of  the  most  secret  court- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      201 

iers,  which  concern  herself;  and  this  may  render  the 
probability  of  these  conjectures  suspicious. 

The  King,  it  is  said,  returns  to  Potsdam  till  the  8th. 
He  is  not  there  so  entirely  occupied  by  business  or 
secret  pleasure  as  to  exclude  all  company.  M.  Arnim 
is  one  of  his  society;  a  kind  of  unfinished  man  of  the 
world,  who  has  acquired  many  friends  by  the  affabil- 
ity and  amenity  of  his  manners  and  his  great  fortune, 
and  whose  understanding,  sufficiently  upright  and  lit- 
tle brilliant,  being  timid  and  wavering,  neither  gives 
umbrage  to  the  King  nor  inspires  him  with  fears.  In 
all  despotic  countries,  one  grand  means  of  good  for- 
tune is  mediocrity  of  talents.  If  it  be  generally  true 
that  no  positive  assertions  ought  to  be  made  in  the 
presence  of  princes,  and  that  hesitation  and  delibera- 
tion always  please  them,  I  think  it  peculiarly  so  applied 
to  Frederick  William  II. 

It  is  affirmed  the  assignments  are  made  out,  and  that 
this  has  been  the  labor  of  Welner  alone.  For  this  rea- 
son all  the  ministers,  Schulemburg  excepted  (perhaps 
because  of  his  connections  with  Count  Finckenstein, 
whom  the  inauguration  of  Mademoiselle  Voss  must 
render  powerful),  are  restless  and  terrified.  Some  of 
them  have  not  yet  given  in  the  least  account  to  the 
King.  Estimate  by  this  the  state  of  a  country  in  which 
everything  depends  on  the  industry  of  the  King.  Be 
not  astonished  that  so  little  mention  is  made  of  busi- 
ness, for  no  business  is  transacted ;  the  affair  of  Lau- 
nay  is  the  only  one  which  is  pursued  with  activity  and 
hatred;  everything  else  slumbers. 

A  person  who  comes  from  Russia  assures  me  that 
the  Empress  has  long  omitted  going  any  more  to  the 
Senate,  and  that  she  habitually  intoxicates  herself  with 
Champagne  and  Hungary  wine  (this  is  contradictory 
to  every  account  I  have  hitherto  received)  ;  that  Po- 
temkin  elevates  his  ambition  to  the  grandest  projects, 


202      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

and  that  it  is  openly  affirmed  he  will  either  be  made 
Emperor  or  be  beheaded,  at  the  accession  of  the  Grand 
Duke.  This  artful  and  decisive  man,  possessed  of 
uncommon  fortitude,  has  not  a  single  friend;  and  yet 
the  number  of  his  creatures  and  creditors  who  with 
him  would  lose  their  all,  is  so  great  in  every  class  of 
the  people,  that  his  party  is  extremely  formidable. 
He  amasses  immense  treasures,  in  a  country  where 
everything  is  venal.  Accustomed  never  to  pay  his 
debts,  and  disposing  of  everything  in  Russia,  he  does 
not  find  any  difficulty  in  accumulating  enormous  sums. 
He  has  an  apartment,  the  key  of  which  he  keeps  him- 
self, partitioned  out  from  top  to  bottom,  and  divided 
into  a  great  number  of  boxes,  filled  with  bank  bills  of 
Russia,  Denmark,  and  particularly  of  Holland  and 
England.  A  person  in  his  employment  proposed  to 
him  the  purchase  of  a  library,  appertaining  to  a  great 
lord  that  had  lately  died.  Potemkin  took  him  into 
his  bank-bill  apartment,  where  the  only  answer  he 
made  was  asking  whether  he  imagined  this  library 
was  of  equal  value  with  the  one  proposed.  Possessed 
of  such  pecuniary  aid,  he  has  no  need  of  any  other  to 
perform  whatever  he  shall  dare  to  undertake  at  Peters- 
burg. 

I  must  here  mention  that  Doctor  Roggerson,  who 
yesterday  departed  on  his  return  to  Petersburg,  affirms 
that  no  person  in  Europe  leads  a  more  sober  or  regular 
life  than  Catherine  II.  He,  however,  has  been  eight 
months  absent. 

I  have  collected  some  particulars  that  are  rather 
curious,  relative  to  the  usurpation  made  on  the  ducal 
rights  of  postage  in  Courland,  of  which  I  have  spoken 
to  you  in  my  former  dispatches.  This  is  an  object  of 
some  importance,  in  so  small  a  State,  independent  of 
the  inquisition  that  thence  results,  and  of  the  infraction 
of  the  rights  of  nations.  This  branch  of  revenue  does 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      203 

not  annually  amount  to  less  than  a  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  livres.  But  the  following  is  a  singular  cir- 
cumstance, which  characterizes  Russian  politics. 

Not  to  commit  an  act  of  violence  too  openly,  and  to 
avoid  marching  troops,  which  always  draws  the  atten- 
tion of  neighboring  Powers,  the  Court  of  Russia  pro- 
posed, or  rather  demanded,  an  amicable  conference 
between  the  deputies  of  Courland  and  commissaries, 
named  to  that  effect;  and  appointed  their  sittings  to 
be  at  Riga,  a  Russian  fortress  on  the  frontiers  of 
Courland,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Governor  of 
that  town.  Four  deputies  from  Courland  repaired 
thither  at  the  time  appointed ;  and  the  Governor  signi- 
fied to  them  that  he  had  received  orders  from  his  Sov- 
ereign to  arrest  them  if  they  did  not  sign  an  act,  which 
he  produced  ready  drawn  up,  by  which  the  ducal  rights 
of  the  postage  of  Courland  were  transferred  to 'Rus- 
sia. The  deputies,  should  they  refuse,  having  no  other 
prospect  before  their  eyes  but  Siberia,  purely  and 
simply  affixed  their  signatures:  after  this,  several 
stipulations,  which  alienated  lesser  rights  and  even 
portions  of  the  borders  of  Courland,  were  in  like 
manner  presented  and  sanctioned.  One  of  the  most 
artful,  and  the  most  important,  of  these  stipulations 
is  that  which  relates  to  reclaiming  the  subjects  of 
Russia,  who  may  be  found  in  Courland,  and  in  which 
the  Cabinet  of  Petersburg  have  included  the  very  de- 
scendants of  those  who  may  have  been  naturalized  for 
ages.  It  is  very  evident  that  this  concession  leads  to 
unlimited  abuse,  and  innumerable  disputes,  which  will 
be  more  injurious  to  Courland  than  the  most  burden- 
some tax  could  be;  for  nothing  can  prevent  the  Rus- 
sian superintendents  from  feigning,  whenever  they 
please,  the  existence  of  one  or  of  several  of  such  or 
such  Russian  subjects,  in  such  or  such  a  part  of  Cour- 
land, or  from  taking  the  refusal  of  restitution  for 


204      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

granted,  in  order  to  lay  the  country  under  the  contri- 
bution of  an  equal  number  of  hundreds  of  ducats  (the 
sum  fixed  by  the  stipulation  for  each  Muscovite  whom 
the  Courlanders  shall  refuse  to  deliver  up),  whenever 
the  Russian  treasury,  or  the  Russian  delegate,  shall 
stand  in  need  of,  or  whenever  the  country  shall  be 
enabled  to  pay,  such  sums  of  money.  I  again  repeat 
that  similar  practices,  openly  in  Courland,  in  other 
parts  more  secretly,  similar  projects  I  say,  are  carried 
on  in  all  the  countries  that  border  upon  Russia.  Let 
us  return  to  Berlin. 

Trumpel,  the  groom  whom  I  mentioned  to  you  in 
my  last,  is  discharged.  This  exertion  has  excited  much 
astonishment.  The  King  certainly  rouses  himself  as 
much  as  he  can,  that  he  may  not  be  governed,  and  this 
is  the  most  distinct  act  of  self-will  which  has  hitherto 
been  discernible  in  the  Monarch. 

On  Thursday  evening  he  supped  at  the  confidential 
table,  at  which  there  are  no  servants,  but  the  guests 
are  supplied  by  tours.  The  supper  was  more  than  gay. 
Ten  persons  were  present.  When  it  was  over,  the 
ladies  of  honor  were  visited,  one  after  the  other. 

Prince  Henry,  who  has  this  week  given  grand  din- 
ners to  the  civil  and  military  officers  of  the  Court,  a 
thing  he  never  did  before,  supped  on  Monday  with  the 
reigning  Queen  and  her  whole  Court.  This  proves 
nothing,  except  a  desire  to  keep  up  the  appearance  of 
politeness.  I  forgot  to  say  that  he  is  to  give  a  dinner 
to-morrow  to  all  the  subalterns  of  the  regiment  of 
Braun.  This  is  gratuitous  and  ridiculous  affectation, 
and  will  never  make  his  peace  with  the  army,  by  which 
he  is  truly  despised. 

Baron  Bagge,  after  refusing  to  pay  any  visits  here, 
even  those  that  common  decorum  required,  saying 
that,  according  to  the  manner  in  which  he  had  lived 
with  the  Heir  Apparent,  it  was  for  the  King  to  send 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      205 

him  an  invitation,  yesterday  received  this  invitation  to 
Potsdam.  The  incident  proves  that  music  still  is  a 
passion. 

That  infamous  C has  written  to  Chauvier,  af- 
firming that  he  knew,  past  all  dispute,  it  was  to  him 
he  was  indebted  for  the  obligation  of  not  being  per- 
mitted to  see  the  King !  that  he  was  going  into  a  coun- 
try in  which  he  should  find  it  easy  to  injure;  and  that 
he  would  use  every  exertion  to  effect  his  ruin;  exclu- 
sive of  the  means  with  which  he  has  been  furnished 
by  Chauvier  himself.  Chauvier  has  acted  with  pro- 
priety, and  laid  the  letter  before  the  King. 

The  nocturnal  jaunts  continue.  I  still  remain  igno- 
rant of  the  object  of  the  grand  motions  toward  Aus- 
tria, and  reciprocally. 


LETTER    XLIV 

November  7th,  1786. 

THE  King  himself  has  interfered  to  produce  a  recon- 
ciliation between  Bishopswerder  and  Goltz,  the  Tar- 
tar. Peace  for  the  present,  therefore,  is  concluded; 
and  the  more  firmly,  because  that  war,  open  and 
avowed,  is  hotly  carried  on  between  the  first  favorite 
and  Count  Goertz.  There  has  been  great  difficulty  in 
preventing  them  coming  to  blows.  What  may  be  ar- 
gued of  a  King  for  whom  they  thus  openly  contend? 
Probably  a  regiment  will  be  given  to  Goertz  to  send 
him  out  of  the  way;  but  the  payment  of  his  debts  is 
the  difficulty,  for  it  appears  that  the  last  thing  the 
King  will  part  with  is  money.  The  treatment  of  the 
aides-de-camp  is  at  length  determined  on.  Bishops- 
werder has  two  thousand  crowns;  Goltz,  the  Tartar, 
and  Bowlet  each  seventeen  hundred.  The  head  groom, 
Lindenau,  also  has  two  thousand  crowns,  with  eight 


206      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

places  of  forage,  which  may  be  estimated  at  six  hun- 
dred crowns,  and  fire  and  candle.  Behold  how  the 
sandy  plains  of  Brandenburg,  with  the  aid  of  Silesia, 
be  it  understood,  are  capable  of  maintaining  an  army 
of  two  hundred  thousand  men 

The  thermometer  of  business  remains  still  at  the 
same  fixed  point.  There  is  no  riddance  of  letters;  one 
chamber  is  full  of  packets  that  remain  unopened.  The 
State  Minister,  Zedlis,  has  not  been  able  to  obtain  an 
answer  to  his  reports  for  more  than  three  weeks. 
Everything  is  in  arrear.  Yet  the  mode  of  living  at 
Potsdam  appears  to  have  been  tolerably  well  regu- 
lated, though  Madame  Rietz  has  been  there.  The 
latest  hour  at  which  the  King  has  risen  has  been  six 
o'clock.  The  Prince  of  Dessau  has  never  seen  him 
before  half -past  twelve,  and  perhaps  not  half  an  hour 
each  day,  dinner  time  excepted.  It  is  at  supper  that 
the  women  make  their  appearance  and  that  wrinkled 
cares  are  discarded. 

Welner  has  not  quitted  Potsdam,  and  two  men  are 
continually  writing  in  his  apartment.  Hitherto  he 
may  be  regarded  as  the  monarch  of  domestic  affairs. 
That  he  is  neither  deficient  in  talents  nor  information 
is  a  point  undisputed ;  and  the  eternal  disorder  of  the 
accounts,  added  to  suspicion  of  the  financiers  in  power, 
must  have  impelled  the  King  to  have  abandoned  him- 
self wholly  to  Welner,  whose  obscurity  is  his  recom- 
mendation. 

I  say  the  ETERNAL  DISORDER  ;  because  in  effect  Fred- 
erick William  L,  with  whom  all  domestic  regulations 
originated,  in  which  no  alterations  were  made  by  his 
son,  kept  no  general  and  exact  accounts, — and  acted 
thus,  systematically:  being  acquainted  himself  with 
the  whole  of  his  affairs,  as  he  would  not  suffer  any 
one  of  his  Ministers  to  divine  what  the  state  of  them 
was,  he  made  out  imperfect,  over-charged,  and  false 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      207 

accounts.  Frederick  II.,  who  never  understood  any- 
thing of  finance,  but  who  very  well  knew  that  money 
is  the  basis  of  all  power,  confined  his  views  to  the 
amassing  of  large  sums;  and  he  was  so  certain  that 
his  savings  were  enormous  that  he  was  satisfied  with 
partial  accounts.  Such  an  interpretation  is  certainly 
more  probable,  in  my  opinion,  than  the  imputation  of 
having  burned  the  general  state  of  debtor  and  creditor, 
with  the  malicious  intention  of  embarrassing  his  suc- 
cessor. The  present  King  wishes  for  order,  and  he  has 
reason  so  to  do;  but  it  is  an  Augean  stable,  and  I  see 
no  Hercules, — at  least  among  those  by  whom  he  in- 
tends to  be  served. 

Count  Finckenstein  has  written  in  very  warm  terms 
to  the  King,  to  inform  him  that  the  provocations  of 
Count  Hertzberg  are  so  frequent  that  they  are  become 
insupportable;  and  that  his  great  age  and  his  last  ill- 
ness made  him  sincerely  desirous  of  retreat.  The 
King  returned  a  very  mild  answer,  very  obliging,  and 
what  may  be  called  apologetic;  in  which  he  earnestly 
requested  him  to  remain  in  office,  and  promised  that 
the  cause  of  his  complaints  should  cease.  He  prom- 
ised, perhaps,  more  than  he  can  perform.  Men  of 
the  most  opposite  tempers  served  together  under  Fred- 
erick II.,  and  this  is  one  of  the  characteristic  traits  of 
his  reign.  But  it  is  no  small  presumption  to  imitate 
his  manner;  it  cannot  be  expected  that  such  imitation 
should  succeed;  for,  in  spite  of  the  servility  of  the 
country,  liberties  are  taken  that  were  not  permitted 
under  the  late  King,  of  whom  the  world  spoke  very 
freely,  but  with  whom  no  person  was  familiar.  The 
very  Academicians  now  make  encroachments.  Three 
new  members  have  been  proposed — one  Boden,  an 
astronomer;  one  Meierotto,  the  rector  of  a  college; 
and  one  Ancillon,  a  minister  of  the  Holy  Gospel. 
Admirable  choice!  The  King  testified  his  surprise 


208      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

with  asperity  at  this  unusual  proposition,  made  with- 
out its  being  even  known  whether  he  did  or  did  not 
intend  to  increase  the  number  of  Academicians.  The 
indiscretion  will  probably  occasion  some  regulation. 
He  has,  however,  signed  a  large  YES  to  the  proposal 
for  I  know  not  what  Druid  of  the  name  of  Erman, 
author  of  a  multitude  of  vile  sermons,  and  a  refugee 
history,  of  which  four  volumes  are  already  written, 
that  might  be  reduced  to  thirty  pages;  and  who  has 
been  proposed  by  the  curator  only,  Count  Hertz- 
berg,  without  the  question  having  been  put  to  the 
vote. 

The  Boden  of  Paris  seems  to  be  forgotten,  or  worse. 
The  King  was  told  that  he  had  written  three  letters  to 
his  Majesty  without  having  received  any  answer.  "  I 
have  no  answer  to  give ;  the  fellow  came  here  without 
orders."  Such  was  the  royal  decision !  The  King  re- 
turns to-morrow  for  a  few  days.  He  has  been  so  ac- 
customed to  run  from  place  to  place,  and  to  make  only 
a  momentary  stay,  that  the  habit  seems  to  have  become 

one  of  his  wants.  M.  de  H wrote  to  him,  three 

days  ago,  to  know  when  he  might  take  his  leave,  but 
has  received  no  answer. 

The  grand  dinner  of  Prince  Henry  to  the  regiment 
of  Braun  was  given  yesterday,  as  I  before  wrote,  All 
the  officers  and  forty  subalterns,  who  had  served  un- 
der him  at  the  battle  of  Prague,  sat  at  the  Prince's 
table.  He  gave  a  medal  worth  fifteen  ducats  to  each 
officer,  a  ducat  to  each  subaltern,  and  a  crown  to  each 
private.  It  would  be  difficult  to  be  more  awkwardly 
ostentatious.  Had  there  been  any  need  to  have  fur- 
ther injured  himself  in  the  King's  opinion,  he  could 
not  have  found  a  better  method;  but  this  was  com- 
pletely done  before,  and  it  must  be  well  known  too,  for 
Roggerson,  who  had  often  visited  Prince  Henry  dur- 
ing his  two  journeys  into  Russia,  has  not  been  to  pay 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      209 

him  his  respects.  The  King  gave  him  an  audience,  it 
is  said,  but  only  for  a  few  moments. 

I  do  not  at  this  instant  recollect  the  name  of  the  per- 
son who  is  arrived  from  Vienna,  and  who  at  the 
King's  table  was  very  pleasant  at  the  Emperor's  ex- 
pense, which  occasioned  a  coolness  in  the  King  and 
some  gloominess,  so  as  to  denote  marks  of  disappro- 
bation— silent  but  strong. 

The  new  ribbons  are  preparing.  Moral  coin  seems 
to  cost  the  King  least  Never  was  the  remark  of 
Frederick  II.  to  Pritwitz  more  true  than  at  present. 
The  latter  complained  that  the  ribbon  had  been  be- 
stowed on  Braun  before  himself.  "  My  ribbon,"  said 
the  King,  "  is  like  saving  grace ;  it  may  be  given,  can- 
not be  merited." 

Count  Arnim  has  been  appointed  master  of  the 
hounds  and  a  Minister  of  State,  with  a  vote  and  a  seat 
in  the  grand  directory.  In  one  of  my  former  dis- 
patches I  have  spoken  of  him  circumstantially.  This 
is  a  pure  choice  of  favor  (and  is  the  more  marked 
because  that  the  place  of  master  of  the  hounds,  taken 
from  Schulemburg,  had  continually  been  solicited  by 
Colonel  Stein,  who  was  rather  in  the  King's  good 
graces),  but  of  favor  founded,  as  I  imagine,  merely 
on  the  pleasure  taken  in  the  company  of  Arnim  who 
is  irreproachable  in  mind  and  manners.  It  is  only 
another  person  of  incapacity  added  to  the  Ministry. 

ROTTEN  BEFORE  RIPE.  Such  I  greatly  fear  will  be 
the  motto  of  the  Prussian  power.  But  their  millions 
are  good.  It  will,  therefore,  be  of  use  to  remit  new 
propositions  for  a  loan,  if  it  be  really  intended  to 
erect  a  bank,  as  all  packets,  gazettes,  and  private  let- 
ters affirm,  so  that,  myself  excepted,  everybody  is  in- 
formed of  the  project;  for  in  my  opinion  these  would 
be  of  more  importance  than  the  loan  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  millions,  which  the  bank  apparently  will 


210      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

be  able  to  borrow  on  its  own  credit.  Struensee,  who 
doubtless  will  be  glad  of  this  occasion  of  rendering 
himself  useful  to  the  King,  has  in  plain  terms  asked 
what  he  is  to  think  of  the  disorder  of  the  Caisse  d'Es- 
compte;  of  the  letter  of  the  Comptroller  General  to 
his  administrators;  of  the  project  of  a  bank;  of  its  ap- 
proaching realization;  of  the  principles  on  which  it  is 
to  be  established;  and  especially  what  kind  of  directors 
shall  have  the  management.  He  thinks  the  plan  good, 
but  is  convinced  that  everything  depends  on  those 
who  shall  have  the  direction.  To  all  these  questions, 
as  you  must  be  sensible,  I  know  not  what  to  reply; 
yet  it  is  requisite  I  should  soon  know,  because  not  to 
mention  that  any  negotiation  of  this  kind  cannot  suc- 
ceed here  except  by  his  aid, — for  not  one  of  the  others 
understands  anything  of  such  affairs, — he  has  a  right 
to  interrogate  me,  since  I  made  the  first  advances. 


LETTER  XLV 

November  2Oth,   1786. 

UNFORTUNATELY,  I  cannot  be  blind  to  what  is  here 
daily  confirmed  by  traits  which  are  each  more  pitia- 
ble than  the  others,  concerning  the  opinion  that  I 
have  so  long  forborne  to  take  of  the  man  and  of  affairs. 
The  King  has  just  bestowed  the  ribbon  of  the  Black 
Eagle  on  Anhalt.  This  gentleman  is  the  son  of  a  cook- 
maid,  and  of  a  multitude  of  fathers.  He  was  origi- 
nally a  groom ;  he  next  sold  smuggled  coffee  to  the  of- 
ficers. I  know  not  by  what  means  he  became  what  he 
is,  but  I  know  that  his  principal  function  was  that  of 
a  spy.  He  was  afterward  placed  in  the  service  of  the 
present  King  while  Prince  of  Prussia;  and,  as  he 
mingled  poisonous  advice  and  odious  tales,  THEY  des- 
tined him,  as  it  is  said  (and  the  word  THEY  is  in  this 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      211 

case  the  most  bitter  of  the  enemies  of  the  late  King) , 
to  execute  a  crime  which  THEY  neither  had  the  address 
to  color  nor  the  courage  to  consummate.  Anhalt  pos- 
sesses more  military  talents  than  his  native  folly 
could  promise.  His  warlike  vocation  seems  to  be 
remarkable  by  this  singular  characteristic,  that  he 
never  possesses  coolness  except  when  heading  his 
men.  He  has  arrived,  whether  by  these  or  other 
means,  at  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  General.  As  he 
is  without  understanding  (the  little  he  had  he  was 
deprived  of  by  a  dreadful  fall,  for  which  he  was 
obliged  to  be  trepanned),  he  continued  in  favor. 

He  was  detested  at  Konigsberg,  where  he  com- 
manded, and  this  was  a  kind  of  recommendation  to 
him  at  Potsdam,  where  the  kingdom  endured  forty- 
six  years  of  disgrace. 

Some  days  before  the  King's  death,  General  Anhalt 
was  sent  for  to  Sans  Souci.  "  You  have  lately  mar- 
ried one  of  your  daughters,"  said  the  King.  "  Yes 
Sire,  I  feel  I  have."  "  How  much  did  you  give  with 
her?"  "Ten  thousand  crowns."  "That  is  a  large 
sum  for  you,  who  have  nothing."  On  the  morrow 
they  were  sent  him  by  the  King.  Anhalt  returned  into 
Prussia.  His  benefactor  died;  he  beheaded  his  por- 
trait, and  substituted  the  head  of  his  successor.  The 
new  King  repairs  to  Konigsberg  to  receive  homage, 
and  bestows  a  superb  box  on  Anhalt ;  but,  indeed,  gives 
him  notice  he  must  quit  the  government  of  Prussia 
in  two  months'  time,  that  is  to  say,  at  present.  An- 
halt, being  at  an  auction  some  days  since  and  seeing 
the  portrait  of  the  late  King  sold  at  a  low  price,  very 
coolly  said,  "  Right,  I'll  give  you  the  other  into  the 
bargain."  He  retires  with  a  pension  of  five  thousand 
crowns,  a  ribbon,  and  a  promise  of  being  employed 
in  war.  This  prostitution  of  reward,  apparently  ex- 
torted from  weakness,  is  endeavored  to  be  excused  by 


212      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

alleging  the  fear  that  Anhalt  should  pass  into  the 
service  of  the  Emperor,  as  he  threatened  in  the  follow- 
ing speech,  which  does  not  want  dignity:  "If  you 
refuse  me  this  favor,  I  must  then  go  elsewhere,  and 
prove  that  it  is  not  because  of  my  want  of  merit."  I 
do  not  think  this  a  sufficient  reason,  for  the  estates 
he  had  purchased  near  Magdeburg  were  a  sufficient 
pledge  for  his  person. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  and,  however  singular  the  choice 
may  appear,  which  has  made  a  strong  impression  upon 
the  public,  it  must  be  allowed  that  Anhalt  is  a  great 
commander,  an  officer  worth  preserving,  and  that  some 
recompense  was  due  to  him  for  the  loss  of  his  govern- 
ment of  Prussia,  with  which,  mad  as  he  was,  and  often 
furious,  he  could  not  be  intrusted. 

But  none  of  these  reasons  can  be  alleged  in  behalf  of 
Manstein,  a  simple  captain,  a  common  and  even  igno- 
rant officer,  but  a  devout  mystic;  who,  without  any 
pretext,  has  been  sent  for  and  is  destined,  as  it  is 
said,  to  be  governor  of  the  young  Princes,  with  the 
title  of  Lieutenant  Colonel.  To  those  who  look  into 
futurity,  this  is  fearful.  The  whole  army  is  offended. 
Indeed,  it  is  probably  not  true;  but  the  very  suspicion 
speaks  the  public  opinion. 

A  singularity  which  has  not  excited  less  murmuring 
is  that  Heynitz,  Minister  of  State  for  the  department 
of  the  mines,  is  placed  at  the  head  of  the  commission 
against  Wertenberg,  a  kind  of  disagreeable  man  who 
has  long  had  the  clothing  of  the  troops;  a  subaltern 
knave,  and  perhaps  nothing  more;  or  perhaps  less  so 
than  his  predecessors.  This  species  of  inquisition, 
which  appears  to  be  the  adopted  method,  and  which 
will  not  easily  be  made  familiar  to  the  people,  whom 
it  will  be  difficult  to  persuade  that  the  late  King  was 
negligent  and  a  bad  economist, — this  species  of  in- 
quisition, I  say,  seems  to  indicate  suspicions  of  the 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       213 

commanding  officers,  since  the  direction  of  such  trials 
is  taken  from  these  officers,  to  whom  they  entirely  ap- 
pertained. There  are  great  complaints,  and  still 
greater  contempt.  This  must  be  an  ill  symptom,  es- 
pecially after  a  reign  of  only  two  months. 

Indolence  and  stagnations,  its  necessary  result,  con- 
tinue to  be  felt.  In  consequence  of  not  having  the  let- 
ters sent  after  him,  as  was  the  custom  of  Frederick- 
II.,  the  King  is  prodigiously  in  arrear.  He  found 
thousands  on  his  return  from  Silesia,  his  journey 
through  which  is  a  striking  contrast  to  the  incredible 
activity  of  the  late  King;  who,  however,  did  not  de- 
vote more  time,  or  rather  who  devoted  less,  than 
another  to  his  trade  of  King.  He  only  set  apart  an 
hour  and  a  half  each  day  on  ordinary  occassions  for 
this  purpose;  but  he  never  put  off  the  business  of  the 
present  day  to  the  morrow.  He  knew,  so  well  was  he 
acquainted  with  man,  that  a  bad  reply  was  better  than 
none.  A  heap  of  memorials  and  projects  are  on  the 
table  of  the  present  King,  most  of  which  relate  to 
military  changes,  on  which  he  has  never  cast  his  eyes, 
and  which  have  been  productive  of  nothing,  except  for 
his  vehement  aversion  for  memorials.  He  regards 
them  as  a  tax  on  his  sovereign  authority;  and  sup- 
poses advice  of  any  kind  to  be  an  avowal  of  an  opinion 
of  his  incapacity.  Among  the  useless  writings  which 
have  been  remitted  to  him,  there  is  said  to  be  a  me- 
morial from  Baron  Knyphausen,  on  foreign  politics. 
There  are  indications  which  lead  me  to  believe  it  is 
favorable  to  our  system,  and  this  has  given  him 
particular  displeasure;  its  fate,  therefore,  was  to  be 
thrown  aside,  without  hesitation,  as  the  reveries  of 
dotage.  The  Baron,  however,  has  disowned  to  me 
that  he  is  the  author  of  this  memorial. 

To  the  same  sensation,  apparently,  which  makes  him 
so  much  detest  advice,  we  must  attribute  the  fol- 


214      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

lowing  singularity :  Welner  has  only  had  a  stipend  of 
three  thousand  crowns,  deducted  from  the  pensions 
formerly  paid  to  the  head  officers  of  the  commercial 
departments;  the  smallest  of  which  pensions  only  is 
granted  him,  so  that  he  is  but  the  equal  of  those  who 
have  least  influence,  and  have  not  the  same  industry. 
As  the  few  preparations  which  are  made  are  all  made 
by  him  his  labor  must  be  very  great.  A  single  state- 
ment of  the  money  accounts  is  said  to  have  given  him 
much  trouble.  At  present,  the  exceedings  of  the  re- 
ceipts over  the  expenditure,  at  least  the  civil,  are 
known.  The  sum  is  greater  than  was  supposed  by  near 
one-quarter,  which  is  much.  It  is  imagined  that  the 
chief  part  of  this  surplus  will  be  applied  to  increase 
the  pay  of  subalterns.  Private  soldiers  undoubtedly 
deserve  no  greater  honor  than  that  of  dying  with  hun- 
ger. But  I  scarcely  can  believe  they  will  dare  to  offend 
the  corps  of  the  captains. 

If  the  King  give  but  little  to  those  who  seem  to  be 
his  greatest  favorites,  yet  there  are  indications  that  he 
bestows  secret  largessess ;  or  that  he  has  secret  reasons 
for  conferring  such  on  some  persons.  The  chamber- 
lain Doernberg,  an  insignificant  person  in  my  opinion, 
who  quitted  the  service  of  the  Princess  Amelia  with 
ingratitude,  she  having  paid  his  debts,  to  enter  into 
that  of  the  Queen,  has  twice  within  five  days  had  his 
salary  considerably  augumented.  At  present  he  has 
two  thousand  crowns  as  chamberlain,  a  sum  hitherto 
unheard  of.  What  does  this  denote?  Have  they  at 
length  determined  on  the  scheme  of  marrying  Ma- 
demoiselle Voss?  Have  they  cast  their  eyes  on  this 
fortunate  mortal,  who  resembles  a  baboon?  Do  they 
intend  insensibility  to  make  his  fortune  ?  A  captain  in 
the  Gendarmes  said  to  me  yesterday,  "  Since  royal 
munificence  is  so  amply  showered  on  Doernberg,  I  for 
my  part  expect  an  annual  gratification  of  fifty  thou- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      215 

sand  crowns.  This  must  be  either  an  affair  of  mysti- 
cism, pimping,  or  marriage.  But,  if  the  last,  why 
make  so  ridiculous  a  choice?  What  courtier  is  there 
who  would  refuse  Mademoiselle  Voss,  with  plenty  of 
money  ?  I  did  them  too  much  honor  in  supposing  such 
were  to  be  found  in  this  Vandalian  Court.  Not  in 
places  where  men  are  accustomed  to  walk  double  will 
any  be  found  who  shall  stand  erect  when  such  temp- 
tations are  thrown  in  their  way.  Besides,  what  cannot 
money  effect  in  a  nation  so  poor !  I  not  long  since  saw 
Brederic,  late  lackey  to  Prince  Henry,  become  a  kind 
of  favorite,  because  of  his  art  as  a  CHAMBER  COUN- 
SELOR, and  ostentatiously  display  the  cross  and  ribbon 
of  a  canonry  of  Magdeburg  (Prince  Henry  is  provost 
of  this  chapter).  Seven  thousand  crowns,  lent  by  the 
Prince,  have  purchased  the  stall ;  and  the  Prince's  well- 
beloved  groom  bears  the  sacred  insignia,  in  a  country 
where  there  is  so  much  delicacy  pretended  on  the  ar- 
ticle of  birth. 

Apropos  of  his  patron.  For  a  week  past  I  have  not 
heard  this  musical  Prince  mentioned,  the  height  and 
depth  of  whose  thermometer  are  the  greatest  that  ever 
fell  under  my  observation.  The  Count  of  Branden- 
burg requested  permission  of  him  to  be  present  at 
the  banquet  he  gave  to  that  part  of  the  regiment  of 
Braun  who  fought  under  him  at  Prague.  The  Prince 
granted  the  child  permission;  and,  after  highly  caress- 
ing him,  said,  "  It  is  difficult,  my  little  friend,  to  con- 
verse with  you  here,  but  ask  your  father  leave  to  come 
to  my  palace,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  see  you." 
Thus  artful  are  his  politics.  He  must  employ  a  quan- 
tity of  such  stratagems  to  reimburse  himself  for  his 
grand  dinners.  One  of  his  table-confidants  and  ad- 
mirers said  to  me  the  other  day,  "  Is  it  not  very  singu- 
lar that  the  Prince  is  so  little  esteemed,  after  all  he  has 
done  for  the  army?  " — and  he  meant  by  this  to  crim- 


216       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

inate  the  army!    It  appeared  to  me  a  notable  speech. 

The  anecdote  respecting  the  Academy  is  still  more 
curious  than  according  to  the  manner  in  which  I  related 
it  in  my  last.  The  Academician  Schultz  has  written  a 
very  violent  letter  to  the  King,  against  Count  Hertz- 
berg,  and  concerning  the  arbitrary  manner  in  which  he 
governs  the  Academy.  The  King  sent  the  letter  to 
Hertzberg,  a  marked  token  of  disapprobation  in  this 
country.  Busching,  the  geographer,  on  the  same  day, 
refused  a  seat  in  the  Academy,  unless  a  pension  should 
be  granted  him  of  a  thousand  crowns.  The  only  an- 
swer given  to  the  complaints  of  Schultz  was  the  nomi- 
nation of  Erman,  by  Hertzberg,  without  consulting 
any  person;  and  the  King  signed  his  YES,  without  ob- 
jecting to  this  nomination.  Schultz  wrote  another  let- 
ter, still  more  violent;  what  the  consequences  were  I 
do  not  know. 

The  disgrace  of  Launay  is  not  so  mild  as  it  appears. 
It  is  openly  avowed  that  Government  only  waits  till  he 
has  furnished  Silesia  with  coffee,  and  that  then  he  is  to 
be  displaced.  He  very  rashly  undertook  this  contract, 
which  he  has  bargained  with  traders  to  fulfill,  who  are 
emboldened  by  his  downfall  to  disown  or  break  their 
engagements  at  the  moment  when,  all  the  navigable 
canals  being  frozen,  there  are  such  few  means  of  re- 
pairing so  great  a  deficiency.  But  the  truth  is  the  com- 
mission is  suspended,  because  that  they  are  secretly 
sending,  through  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  in 
search  of  proofs;  a  truly  cruel  and  tryannical  inquisi- 
tion, which  shows  that  they  are  rather  desirous  of  the 
guilt  of  Launay  than  of  the  public  benefit. 

A  man  named  Dubosc,  formerly  an  eminent  mer- 
chant at  Leipsic,  where,  if  I  do  not  mistake,  he  failed, 
and  well  known  for  his  visionary  adherence  to  mys- 
ticism, has  been  sent  for,  and  is  at  present  employed,  as 
is  supposed,  to  give  in  a  plan  of  commercial  regula- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      217 

tions  as  a  substitute  for  exclusive  privileges.  It  should 
seem  they  meditate  a  sally  against  the  Splittgerbers, 
and  that  means  are  seeking  to  deprive  them  of  the 
monopoly  of  sugar;  a  very  just  and  salutary,  but  a 
very  difficult  and  delicate  act. 

An  article  of  intelligence  still  more  important  is  that 
Baron  Knyphausen  has  had  a  secret  conversation  with 
the  King ;  but,  though  it  comes  from  a  good  quarter,  I 
will  not  warrant  it  to  be  true.  Not  that  this  would 
much  astonish  me.  I  know  past  doubt  that  the  King, 
enraged  at  being  obliged  to  send  Count  Goertz  to  Hol- 
land, at  the  very  moment  when  the  House  of  Orange 
itself  complains  of  this  Ambassador,  wished  after 
venting  a  torrent  of  passion  and  abuse,  to  recall  both 
Goertz  and  Thulemeyer ;  but  that  he  was  stopped  short, 
because  of  the  impossibility  of  finding  a  MAN  in  a 
country  where  there  are  none;  and  particularly  none 
fit  for  Ambassadors,  a  part  of  administration  that  was 
highly  neglected  by  the  late  King.  His  successor,  per- 
haps, will  be  taught  that  fools  are  not  good  for  any  one 
purpose. 

POSTSCRIPT. — Nothing  new  since  I  wrote  this  long 
letter.  Various  particulars  assure  me  that  the  Prin- 
cess Frederica,  the  daughter  of  the  King,  gains  great 
influence,  and  never  meets  with  any  refusal.  This 
doubtless  appertains  to  the  history  of  Voss. 


LETTER  XLVI 

TO  THE  DUG  DE  L 

November  12th,  1786. 

I  FLATTERED  myself  that  M.  de  H would  bring 

me  a  packet  from  Your  Grace.    He  informed  me  you 


2i8      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

had  intended  to  intrust  him  with  one,  and  I  am  ex* 
ceedingly  grateful  for  the  intention,  although  I  have 
not  profited  by  it ;  this  I  attribute  to  unforeseen  circum- 
stances, which,  while  I  pray  for  you,  have  my  hearty 
maledictions. 

I  hope  that  the  Abbe  de  P has  sent  you  the 

news  of  the  country,  concerning  which  I  have  not 
neglected  occasionally  to  remit  anecdotes  tolerably 
characteristic  of  the  moment.  I  feel  the  poverty  of 
my  own  harvest  more  forcibly  than  any  person; -but  it 
ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  I  am  neither  provided 
with  the  pecuniary  nor  the  ministerial  means.  It  is 
impossible  anything  should  escape  the  man  of  France 
if  he  be  adroit,  active,  liberal,  and  has  the  art  to  invite 
proper  guests  to  his  DAILY  dinners  and  suppers;  for 
these  are  the  efficacious  means,  and  not  PUBLIC  din- 
ners. He  is,  besides,  a  kind  of  register  office,  to  which 
all  the  discontented,  the  babblers,  and  the  covetous 
resort.  Besides  that,  his  intercourse  with  subalterns 
is  natural  to  him  and  permitted ;  I,  on  the  contrary, 
have  need  of  great  art  and  circumspection,  in  order  to 
speak  without  offense  or  intrusion  on  public  affairs.  I 
rarely  can  address  my  discourse  to  persons  in  power. 
My  very  aspect  terrifies  them  too  much.  The  King 
never  deigns  to  look  at  me  but  their  countenances 
lengthen  and  grow  pale.  I  have  acted  however,  to  the 
best  of  my  abilities,  and,  as  I  believe,  done  all  I  could 
with  means  that  are  very  mutilated,  very  ungracious, 
and  very  sterile;  nor  can  I  tell  whether  the  person  on 
whom  the  King  bestows  a  salary  of  sixty  thousand 
livres,  and  a  post  of  honor  here,  sends  much  more  in- 
formation than  I  do.  But  I  well  know  that  I,  under 
the  same  circumstances,  would  have  penetrated  many 
clouds  through  which,  stationed  as  I  am,  I  have  very 
dark  views ;  and  that  I  would  not  discredit  my  nation, 
as  he  is  accused  of  doing,  by  his  haughty  behavior,  his 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      219 

bitttersweet  aspect  and  idleness  that  greatly  resembles 
ignorance. 

M.  de  H will  more  fully  relate,  as  I  suppose,  the 

particulars  I  have  sent.  He  will  tell  you  our  cause  is  a 
lost  one  here,  unless  a  change  should  take  place  among 
the  Judges;  that  the  way  to  re-establish  our  affairs  is 
not  to  be  over  hasty;  since  this  would  but  prolong  re- 
sistance among  men  naturally  phlegmatic,  and  whose 
phlegm  we  may  safely  conclude  will  not  suffer  them  to 
continue  long  impassioned;  that  he  himself  was  too 
hasty  to  come  to  a  country  which  at  the  beginning  of 
the  present  reign,  when  each  is  looking  for  advance- 
ment, is  too  restless  and  jealous  to  suppose  that  a  gen- 
eral officer  and  an  inspector  in  the  service  of  France 
could  really  wish  to  be  in  the  service  of  Prussia;  that 
the  chaos  (for  so  affairs  at  present  may  well  be  called) 
must  be  suffered  to  subside,  and  from  the  nature  of 
things  acquire  consistency  (if  on  the  contrary  it  should 
not  suffer  destruction),  though  it  be  but  the  consis- 
tency of  apathy,  before  attempts  should  be  made  to 
interfere;  that  no  person  is  at  present  firmly  placed; 
that  the  grand  question — "  Will  the  King,  or  will  he 
not,  have  the  courage  to  take  a  first  Minister?" — is 
far  from  being  resolved,  even  by  the  calculation  of 
probabilities;  that  on  this  determination,  however,  the 
fate  of  the  country  depends,  and  even  the  ultimate 
capacity  of  the  King,  whose  inability  will  be  of  little 
import  if  this  remedy  should  be  found  to  be  a  substitute 
for  his  indecision;  that  the  symptoms  are  vexatious, 
and  indeed  disagreeable,  but  that  we  must  not  pro- 
nounce too  hastily,  because  our  information  is  the  re- 
verse of  complete. 

It  appears  to  me  indubitable  that  Prince  Henry  is 
ruined  past  resource;  and  I  fear  (in  his  behalf)  that, 
on  this  occasion  as  on  many  others,  chance  has  ar- 
ranged affairs  better  than  our  precaution.  But 


220      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

whether  or  no,  his  cunning,  his  boasting,  his  inconsis- 
tency, the  intemperance  of  his  tongue,  and  the  vileness 
of  his  creatures,  seconded  by  the  most  universal  dis- 
credit, have  added  to  personal  antipathy,  and  the  gen- 
eral and  habitual  fear  of  appearing  to  be  governed. 

The  destiny  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  is  far  other- 
wise uncertain;  nor  do  I  believe  it  will  be  decided  be- 
fore there  is  an  open  rupture.  But  it  is  peculiar  to  him, 
and  to  him  alone,  that,  should  he  once  grasp  power,  it 
will  not  afterward  escape  him;  for  a  better  courtier,  a 
man  of  deeper  views,  more  subtle,  and  at  the  same 
time  more  firm  and  more  pertinacious,  does  not  exist. 

You  may  well  imagine,  Monseigneur,  that,  if  I  sup- 
pose facts  are  too  partial,  and  hitherto  not  sufficiently 
numerous  to  be  reduced  to  system,  on  which  conjec- 
tures may  be  formed  respecting  the  King  and  politics, 
I  am  still  much  farther  from  thinking  I  can,  with  any 
appearance  of  probability  satisfactory  for  a  wise  man, 
divine  what  will  be  the  grand  foreign  connections,  and 
political  influence  of  Prussia,  under  the  present  reign. 
I  have  sketched  my  ideas  on  the  subject  in  a  memorial, 
which  is  a  work  of  labor;  but  which  (except  the 
proofs  the  country  affords,  and  which  here,  as  I  im- 
agine, will  be  found  united  and  compared  more  accu- 
rately than  anywhere  else)  is  only  a  succession  of  con- 
jectures. It  contains  many  things  which  may,  and  per- 
haps not  one  of  which  will,  happen.  I  am  fortunate 
if,  in  this  calculation  of  the  arithmetic  of  chances,  I 
have  so  far  succeeded  as  to  describe  things  as  they 
are,  and  as  they  may  be.  From  this  memorial,  ac- 
companied by  three  or  four  others,  on  parts  of  Ger- 
many which  lucky  chance  has  given  me  opportunities 
of  perfectly  knowing,  a  plan  may  be  formed  accord- 
ing to  which  the  Germanic  edifice  may  be  recon- 
structed, a  work  that  ought  to  be  begun,  if  its  ruin  is 
not  desired.  And  here,  I  confess,  the  indecision  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      221 

man,  the  complication  of  incidents,  and  the  obscurity 
of  future  contingencies  arrest  me  at  each  step;  and  I 
have  no  other  guide  than  what  is  offered  by  your  grand 
and  noble  project  of  coalition,  between  France  and 
England,  the  end  of  which  is  to  give  happiness  to  the 
world,  and  not  afford  amusement  to  orators  and  news- 
writers. 

M.  de  H has  informed  me  that  Your  Grace  in- 
tends coming  hither  in  the  spring.  This  certainly 
would  be  the  only  means  of  rendering  my  stay  here 
supportable.  But  I  hope  you  will  not  so  long  be  left 
in  inactivity  so  unworthy  of  your  talents.  As  to  my- 
self, after  having  paid  a  tribute  for  six  months,  during 
which  I  have  the  satisfaction  conviction  gives  of  hav- 
ing employed  uncommon  assiduity  and  research,  in 
compensation  for  the  want  of  natural  talents,  I  think 
I  have  a  right  to  shake  off  an  equivocal  and  doubtful 
existence,  every  way  embarrassing,  requiring  dexterity 
and  fortitude  seldom  found  to  preserve  personal  re- 
spect, and  in  which  I  consume  my  time  and  my  strength 
in  a  species  of  labor  that  has  no  charms  for  me,  or  in 
the  languor  of  etiquette  and  company  still  worse  than 
this  labor.  Of  this  I  have  informed  the  Abbe  de 
P in  express  terms. 


LETTER  XLVII 

November  24th,  1786. 

THE  most  distressing  incident  possible  has  just  hap- 
pened to  me.  It  is  a  very  extraordinary  story.  Ma- 
dame de  F the  famous  Tribade,  coming  from  the 

waters  of  Schwalback,  has  dropped  here  as  if  from 
the  clouds,  under  a  borrowed  name,  with  an  immense 
train,  and  not  a  single  letter  of  recommendation  except 


222      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

to  bankers.  Can  you  imagine  what  project  this  pro- 
foundly audacious  and  indeed  capable  woman  has 
entertained?  The  conquest  of  the  King!  And  as, 
in  punishment  for  my  sins,  I  have  known  her  long 
and  well,  the  damnable  siren  has  addressed  herself 
to  me,  to  lay  down  a  chart  of  the  country  for  her; 
and,  in  return,  receive,  as  a  deposit,  that  high  confi- 
dence which  I  should  most  willingly  have  bequeathed 
to  Beelzebub.  However,  as  she  is  a  demon  of  seduc- 
tion, as  she  does  not  ask  for  money,  at  least  not  at 
present,  and  as  her  qualities  of  body  and  mind  in 
many  respects  correspond  with  those  of  the  Monarch, 
if  this  be  not  an  opportunity  to  be  sought  after  neither 
is  it  one  to  reject.  Besides,  as  the  design  is  begun,  and 
as  it  will  be  better  to  undertake  the  direction  than  be 
exposed  to  ridiculous  broils,  I  am  at  present  in  search 
of  means  to  afford  her  a  decent  pretense  of  remaining 
here  a  fortnight;  taking  care  to  draw  my  stake,  or 
rather  taking  care  not  to  put  it  down. 

If  the  Comte  d'Esterno  were  not  in  every  respect  one 
and  the  same,  the  affair  might  presently  be  managed. 
She  might  be  going  to  Petersburg,  through  Warsaw, 
— waiting  here  till  she  could  travel  in  a  sledge,  which 
from  the  setting  in  of  the  frost  cannot  be  long  delayed ; 
might  give  a  few  select  suppers;  excite  curiosity,  etc., 
etc.  But  this  mode  is  not  to  be  depended  on ;  it  is  too 
subtle  for  his  understanding. 

Were  not  Prince  Henry  indiscretion  itself,  nothing 
could  be  more  easy  than  by  his  aid  to  introduce  her  to 
the  Court.  She  might  have  brought  him  letters.  But 
in  an  hour's  time  the  aide-de-camp,  Tauensien,  would 
be  informed  of  everything;  as  would  his  aunt,  Madame 
Knibbeck,  in  five  minutes  afterward ;  and  her  I  suspect 
to  be  the  go-between  of  Mademoiselle  Voss.  We  must 
depend  on  our  resources.  I  shall  take  care  not  to  en- 
tangle myself;  though,  indeed,  her  very  first  step  has 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      223 

entangled  me.  It  is  a  kind  of  a  fatality;  and  how 
might  I  escape  ? 

I  have  made  many  reflections  on  this  odd  adven- 
ture. Our  plan  must  be  not  to  abandon  our  purpose, 
and  not  to  be  too  scrupulous  concerning  the  means. 
The  few  we  have  are,  in  truth,  impracticable. 

If  she  remain  in  her  present  situation,  there  will  be 
no  means  of  seeing  the  King.  The  mystics,  the  Voss 
party,  and  the  anti-French  in  general,  will  all  be  her 
enemies.  If  she  conceal  her  intentions,  she  will  be 
opposed  by  the  party  of  the  Rietz,  and  the  subalterns. 
Either  I  must  often  visit  her,  which  will  render  her 
suspected ;  or  I  must  not,  and  she  will  conduct  herself 
improperly. 

If  this  partake  of  the  adventurer,  I  voluntarily  en- 
gross the  blame. 

Nothing  can  be  done  in  haste,  with  a  German  prince. 
Should  her  stay  be  long,  that  stay  will  of  itself  divulge 
the  secret. 

It  is  not  possible  but  that,  in  a  week,  her  true  name 
must  be  known.  The  reputation  she  has  acquired  will 
then  spoil  everything,  in  a  country  where  seductive 
qualities  will  not  excuse  vice,  and  where  a  trip  is  not 
the  less  a  trip  because  made  by  a  woman. 

The  follies  most  inexcusable  are  those  which  expose 
to  ridicule  without  compensation,  of  the  number  of 
which  this  is  one.  D'Esterno  will  relate  his  trifling 
tales ;  Boden  his  trifling  scandal ;  Tauensien  propagate 
his  trifling  intrigues;  before  appearance,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  let  the  crowd  go  by,  who  will  come  and 

endeavor 1  will,  therefore,  send  her  to  Warsaw, 

and  procure  her  letters.  She  may  return  with  other 
letters,  if  you  do  not  inform  me  by  what  means  she 
may  be  prevented,  should  such  be  your  wish ;  for,  though 
I  can  delay,  how  may  I  forbid  her  return  ?  Such  I  have 
thought  the  least  hazardous  proceeding  in  this  fantas- 


224      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

tic  farce,  which  I,  with  good  reason,  think  of  greater 
importance  than  you  may  be  tempted  to  do,  because  at 

Paris  Madame  de  F is,  like  many  others,  little 

more  than  a  courtesan;  while  here,  the  niece  of  an 

Ambassador  and  the  widow  of  a  P G ,  etc., 

will  never  be  supposed  not  to  have  been  sent  by  Gov- 
ernment, or,  at  least,  not  to  have  come  hither  under 
its  protection.  She,  therefore,  must  not  be  suffered  to 
commit  any  great  folly. 

The  King  has  lately  terminated  a  suit  which  had 
been  in  contest  for  three-and-twenty  years.  The  Duke 
of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  formerly  borrowed  a  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns  of  Frederick  II.,  and  gave  some 
bailliages  (or  districts)  as  a  security.  Hither  Frederick 
immediately  sent  a  regiment  of  hussars  into  quarters. 
The  regiment,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  raised  recruits. 
The  people  of  Mecklenburg  were  shocked  by  this  act  of 
despotism,  and  offered  to  repay  the  late  King;  who, 
during  twenty-three  years,  always  found  pretenses  to 
avoid  receiving  the  money.  His  successor  has  with- 
drawn the  troops.  It  is  true  he  loses  an  opportunity  of 
enlisting  some  of  the  country  people,  but  he  will  an- 
nually save  thirty  thousand  crowns;  and  there  is  like- 
wise a  new  member  gained  for  the  Germanic  confed- 
eration, and  what  that  might  be  valued  at,  this  is 
worth. 

On  Sunday  (the  I2th),  at  the  principal  inn  in  Ber- 
lin, the  marriage  of  the  Countess  Matuska  and  a  Prus- 
sian officer  named  Stutheren,  was  celebrated.  The 
Countess  is  a  sister  of  Mademoiselle  Hencke  (Madame 
Rietz).  She  thought  to  have  married  a  Polish  gen- 
tleman, who  some  months  since  withdrew.  Once  de- 
ceived, she  next  made  choice  of  a  young  officer.  The 
King  has  given  money,  and  money  enough.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  Mademoiselle  Hencke,  who  now  is  said  not 
to  be  married  to  Rietz,  will  retire  and  live  with  her 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      225 

sister,  that  she  may  not  impede  the  projects  formed  to 
enjoy  the  maid  of  honor  in  peace. 

There  are  whisperings  of  a  very  remarkable  and  very 
secret  supper,  at  which  the  shade  of  Caesar  was  taken. 
The  number  of  mystics  increases.  They  affirm  that 
the  credit  of  Bishopswerder  declines.  I  do  not  believe 
a  word  of  it. 

No  new  act  of  finance,  Depositions  against  poor 
Launay  are  poured  in,  and  in  all  probability  his  for- 
tune must  purchase  his  freedom. 

Nothing  new,  or  at  least  nothing  certain,  from  Hol- 
land, except  that  Count  Goertz  has  found  the  way  to 
displease  the  States,  the  House  of  Orange,  and  the 
principal  persons  who  are  enumerated  among  the 
French  faction.  I  well  know  what  a  philosopher  would 
deduce  from  this :  the  politician  will  perceive  there  are 
commissions,  the  discharge  of  which  he  never  ought 
to  undertake. 


LETTER   XLVIII 

November  iSth,  1786. 

IT  is  every  day  more  apparent  that  the  King  does  not 
forget  those  who  were  attached  to  him  before  his 
accession  to  the  throne;  and  this  propensity,  which 
is  successively  developed,  proves  him,  at  least,  an  hon- 
est man.  Count  Alexander  Wartensleben,  an  officer 
in  the  guards,  whom  I  have  several  times  mentioned, 
had  been  educated  with  him.  Hence  that  intimacy 
which  will  not  admit  of  secrets.  The  late  King  sent 
for  Wartensleben,  and  said  to  him,  "  I  am  pleased  to 
see  you  so  very  intimate  with  my  nephew;  continue 
your  friendship.  But  it  is  also  necessary  you  should 
serve  the  State.  I  ought  to  be  informed  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  my  successor.  Mein  liebes  Kind,  you  will 


226     'MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

come  and  let  me  know  what  passes  at  your  parties  of 
pleasure.  I  shall  not  forbid  them.  I  shall  only  warn 
you  when  there  is  any  danger;  and  of  this  you  your- 
self will  inform  the  Prince  of  Prussia.  Depend  upon 
me,  mein  Schatz."  Wartensleben,  who  knew  the  old 
fox,  replied  "  that  he  was  the  friend  of  the  Prince,  the 
friend  of  his  heart,  and  that  he  would  never  become 
his  spy."  The  King  then  assumed  his  furious  coun- 
tenance. "  HERR  LIEUTENANT,  since  you  will  not 
serve  me,  I  will  at  least  take  care  that  you  shall  obey." 
On  the  morrow  he  was  sent  to  Spandau,  where  he 
was  imprisoned  three  months,  and  after  that  ordered 
to  a  garrison  regiment  in  the  very  farther  part  of 
Prussia.  On  the  new  King's  accession  he  was  recalled. 
After  a  momentary  displeasure,  which  Wartensleben's 
refusal  to  go  to  Sweden  occasioned,  and  which  perhaps 
was  the  contrivance  of  the  other  favorites,  the  King 
has  bestowed  a  prebendary  on  him,  the  income  of 
which  is  valued  at  twelve  thousand  crowns;  and,  ac- 
cording to  all  appearance,  intends  to  give  him  the 
command  of  the  guards. 

The  following  is  a  second  example  of  a  like  kind. 
When  the  suit  was  carried  on  against  the  Minister 
Goern,  who  was  superintendent  of  the  College  of 
Commerce,  among  his  papers  was  a  bill  on  the  Heir 
Apparent  for  thirty  thousand  crowns.  The  money 
must  be  procured  within  twenty-four  hours.  Arnim 
went  in  search  of  the  Prince,  and  offered  him  the  sum, 
which  was  most  joyfully  accepted.  This  probably  is 
the  origin  of  the  favor  which  the  new  Minister  enjoys ; 
I  cannot  conjecture  any  other,  except  what  may  be 
deduced  from  the  King's  easiness  of  character,  his 
indecision  and  mediocrity  of  mind;  which,  however,  is 
just  and  clear,  as  I  have  said  in  my  former  dispatches. 

The  King  has  done  a  third  humane  and  generous 
act.  His  first  wife,  the  Princess  Elizabeth  of  Bruns- 


>>     a 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      227 

wick,  has  received  an  increase  of  allowance,  consisting 
of  the  revenues  of  the  bailliage  of  Ziganitz,  which 
amount  to  twelve  thousand  crowns,  with  liberty  to 
retire  whenever  she  pleases.  Certain  of  not  being 
received  by  her  family,  she  will  remain  at  Stettin. 
But  the  news  has  transported  her  with  joy.  She  has 
publicly  declared  that  the  lady  of  General  Schwerin, 
her  gouvcrnantc,  has  no  more  right  to  give  her  any 
orders;  and,  for  the  first  time  these  eighteen  years, 
she  took  an  airing  on  horseback  with  Mademoiselle 
Plates,  that  she  might  immediately  enjoy  that  liberty 
to  which  she  was  restored. 

A  trait  which  we  ought  to  add,  in  proof  of  the 
King's  morals,  is  his  having  given  up  the  letters  to 
Prince  Henry,  which  passed  in  his  correspondence 
with  Frederick.  Their  number  amounts  to  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-seven,  on  State  affairs,  from  the  year 
1759  to  the  year  1786.  It  had  been  unseasonably 
reported  that  the  Prince  was  privately  of  his  brother's 
opinion  concerning  their  nephew.  These  letters,  how- 
ever, have  proved  that  he  did  not  wish  it  should  be 
known.  He  even  rendered  him  services;  and,  for  ex- 
ample, when  Count  Wartensleben  of  whom  I  have 
just  spoken,  was  imprisoned,  he  sent  him  a  grant  of  a 
pension  of  a  hundred  a  year,  which  he  still  enjoys. 

The  famous  chamber  hussar,  Schoening,  the  con- 
fidential man  of  the  deceased  King,  has  lately  been 
appointed  assistant  to  the  cashier  of  the  military  chest, 
with  a  salary  of  three  thousand  crowns.  This  cer- 
tainly is  not  a  rancorous  act.  Schoening,  indeed,  is 
not  a  man  without  intelligence;  and  he  is  the  deposi- 
tary of  numerous  secrets,  which  ought  not  at  present 
to  be  made  public,  perhaps  never. 

In  opposition  to  all  these  good  actions,  we  must 
place  the  apathy  of  the  King,  on  the  subject  of  his 
personal  debts.  He  is  in  no  haste  to  pay  those  that 

8 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


228      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

are  not  of  the  household,  and  there  is  a  very  consider- 
able sum  appertaining  to  the  latter  which  remains 
unsettled. 

It  is  determined  that  the  King-  is  to  discharge  all 
the  persons  employed  as  tax  gatherers  on  the  French 
finance  system,  which  in  itself  is  a  laudable  act;  for 
were  there  a  necessity  for  some  years  to  prolong  the 
farming  of  the  customs,  yet,  either  the  French  col- 
lectors already  have,  or  never  will  have,  taught  the 
Germans  the  mode  of  transacting  the  business.  And  is 
tot  the  Prussian  Monarch  the  King  of  Germans  ?  But 
innovation  is  a  very  delicate  thing;  and  I  see  no  prep- 
arations made  to  lessen  the  shocks  that  must  be  re- 
ceived. The  farmers  of  tobacco  and  snuff  have  been 
informed  that  their  administration  must  cease  on  the 
ist  of  June,  1787.  All  persons  thenceforward  will  be 
allowed  to  cultivate  tobacco,  and  to  make  and  sell 
snuff.  This  is  a  very  important  object ;  for  the  tobacco 
that  grows  on  these  barren  sands  is  some  of  the  best 
in  Germany,  and  formerly  was  a  very  considerable 
branch  of  trade.  On  the  ist  of  July  grants  are  to  be 
delivered,  gratis,  to  whoever  shall  make  the  requisi- 
tion. (Nay,  freedom  is  promised  for  coffee,  too.) 
From  1783  to  1786,  the  duties  on  snuff  and  tobacco 
had  yielded  about  sixteen  hundred  thousand  livres 
more  than  the  sum  they  had  been  estimated  at  by  the 
King;  so  that  these  formed  a  revenue  of  something 
more  than  a  million  of  crowns,  and  sometimes  a  mil- 
lion four  hundred  thousand.  Yet  the  collectors  had 
not  the  right  of  buying  the  leaf  tobacco;  they  were 
obliged  to  purchase  it  from  the  warehouses  of  the 
Maritime  Company,  by  whom  it  was  sold  at  a  profit 
of  cent  per  cent.  These  collectors  committed  infinite 
vexations  on  the  subject,  to  obtain  a  surplus,  with 
which  it  was  necessary  to  come  before  the  King  when 
they  delivered  in  their  accounts;  otherwise,  he  could 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      229 

neither  find  wisdom  in  their  proceedings  nor  talents  in 
themselves.  The  King  leaves  the  collectors  their  sal- 
aries till  they  can  be  provided  for,  and  this  is  humane ; 
for  the  change  will  affect  not  less  than  twelve  hundred 
families.  But  how  will  they  find  a  substitute  for  this 
revenue?  A  capitation  tax  is  spoken  of,  and  is  cer- 
tainly under  deliberation.  The  subjects  are  to  be  com- 
prised in  twelve  classes ;  the  rich  merchants  are  to  pay 
twenty- four  crowns;  the  rich  inhabitants  twelve 
crowns ;  two  crowns  for  obscure  citizens ;  and  the  peas- 
ants something  less  than  two  francs.  What  a  manner 
of  beginning  a  reign  it  is,  to  tax  persons  before  prop- 
erty! In  the  collection  of  this  odious  tax,  which  sets 
a  price  on  the  right  of  existence,  the  tobacco  excise- 
men are  to  be  employed.  The  capitation,  however,  is 
somewhat  softened  by  being  paid  by  the  family  and 
not  by  the  head.  But  the  proselytes  to,  and  even  the 
apostles  of,  this  project  do  not  estimate  the  tax  at 
more  than  two  millions  of  crowns  annually;  which 
sum  is  the  product  of  tobacco  and  coffee  united,  but 
which  scarcely  will  supply  the  deficiency;  and  those 
who  understand  calculation  in  finance  will  be  careful 
not  to  estimate  a  tax  equally  productive  in  figures  and 
reality.  I  am  surprised  that  he  does  not  first  gain  a 
better  knowledge  of  substitutes;  and  that  he  should 
begin  by  operations  which  I  have  pointed  out  as  things 
to  prepare,  and  should  defer  those  with  which  I 
thought  he  ought  to  commence. 

Heinitz,  Minister  for  the  department  of  the  mines, 
and  president  of  the  commission  commanded  to  exam- 
ine the  administration  of  General  Wartenberg,  warned 
no  doubt  by  universal  clamor,  has  remonstrated  to  the 
King  that  it  is  requisite  to  add  some  military  men  to 
the  commissioners.  His  Majesty  has  in  consequence 
appointed  General  Moellendorf. 

To  give  a  specimen  of  the  malversations  attributed 


230      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

to  the  Jew  Wartenberg,  which  it  is  said  were  highly 
surpassed  by  his  predecessors,  the  following  trait  is 
cited.  He  made  up  clothing  for  a  regiment  of  foot, 
without  having  shrunk  the  cloth.  The  coats  were  so 
tight  that  they  scarcely  would  button  on  the  men. 
The  first  day  they  were  worn  by  the  regiment  there 
happened  a  heavy  shower.  The  quartermaster  said 
that,  if  the  soldiers  pulled  off  their  regimentals,  they 
never  could  put  them  on  again ;  accordingly  they  were 
commanded  to  lie  all  night  in  their  clothes,  and  dry 
them  upon  their  backs. 

The  next  is  an  example  of  another  kind,  and  char- 
acteristic of  Frederick  II.  One  of  the  cash  keepers  of 
Wartenberg  stole  eighty  thousand  crowns.  The  Gen- 
eral informed  the  King,  and  waited  his  commands. 
Frederick  replied  he  had  nothing  to  say  to  the  matter, 
for  he  was  for  his  own  part  determined  not  to  lose 
the  money.  Wartenberg  understood  this  jargon,  as- 
sembled all  the  army  clothiers,  and  requested  they 
would  divide  the  loss,  under  pain  of  being  no  more 
employed.  The  clothiers  cried,  cursed,  lamented  their 
wretched  destiny,  and  subscribed.  Wartenberg  wrote 
to  the  King  that  the  money  was  again  in  the  military 
chest.  Frederick  sent  a  very  severe  answer,  and  con- 
cluded his  letter  by  telling  him  "  this  was  the  last  time 
he  should  be  pardoned." 

Private  anecdotes  continue  much  the  same.  The 
general  report  is  that  the  King  is  to  espouse  Made- 
moiselle Voss  with  the  left  hand, — a  German  mode  of 
ennobling  courtesans,  invented  by  pliant  courtiers  and 
complaisant  priests  to  save  appearances,  say  they. 
This  lady  still  continues  a  mixture  of  prudery  and 
cynisme,  affectation  and  ingenuousness.  She  can  find 
understanding  only  in  the  English,  whose  language 
she  speaks  tolerably  well. 

Manstein  is  suspected  to  be  the  author  of  some  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      231 

the  intended  changes  in  the  army,  the  purport  of  which 
is  to  better  the  condition  of  the  soldier  and  the  subal- 
tern, at  the  expense  of  the  captain.  I  repeat,  this  last 
is  a  formidable  cohort;  and  that  innovations  of  such 
a  kind  require  great  foresight  and  inflexible  fortitude. 
Prince  Henry,  who  is  profoundly  silent,  in  public, 
concerning  all  operations,  will  very  warmly  take  part 
with  the  army,  should  it  find  cause  of  complaint;  and 
hopes  thus  to  regain  what,  by  his  excessive  haughti- 
ness, he  has  lost.  But  the  army  aristocracy  know  him 
too  well  to  confide  in  him;  they  know  that  the  Gitons 
have  been,  and  will  always  continue,  with  him,  the 
sovereign  arbiters;  that,  when  circumstances  have 
obliged  him  to  seek  the  aid  of  men  of  merit,  he  has 
always  found  their  presence  a  burden,  which  his  crazy 
frame  has  shaken  off  as  soon  as  possible, — that,  in 
fine,  his  day  is  ended,  with  respect  to  war,  and  that  he 
is  odious  to  the  Ministry. 

It  seems  one  Count  Briihl  is  chosen  governor  of  the 
Prince  Royal ;  and  nothing  better  proves  the  influence 
of  Bishopswerder  than  this  eternal  preference  of 
Saxons.  Count  Briihl,  son  of  the  ostentatious  satrap 
of  the  same  name,  brother  of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  • 
Saxon  Artillery,  amiable,  well  informed,  really  or  pre- 
tensedly  believing  in  the  reveries  of  the  mystics,  with 
little  of  the  soldier,  yet  willing  to  profit  by  circum- 
stances and  to  enter  the  military  career  with  gigantic 
strides — this  Count,  I  say,  demands  to  enter  the  ser- 
vice as  a  lieutenant  general ;  a  thing  unheard  of  in  the 
Prussian  army,  and  which  will  cause  infinite  dis- 
content. 

An  interdict  has  lately  been  issued,  prohibiting  the 
discount  of  bills  at  the  bank;  which  is  very  wise  in 
theory,  but  here  accompanied  by  great  inconveniences 
in  practice;  for  either  the  bank  or  the  King  must  pay 
the  interest  of  two  and  a  half  per  cent  for  about  seven- 


232      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

teen  millions  of  crowns,  which  is  the  amount  of  the 
capital  of,  and  the  money  brought  into,  the  bank,  in  a 
country  where  moneyed  men  find  no  means  of  em- 
ploying their  capitals.  The  bank  cannot  pay  this  two 
and  a  half  per  cent  without  becoming  burdensome  to 
the  King,  except  by  discounting  bills  of  exchange; 
and  it  will  hereafter  be  the  less  able,  if  the  Maritime 
Company,  founded  as  I  have  before  said,  on  so  frail 
a  basis,  and  obliged  to  give  at  least  ten  per  cent  to  the 
proprietors,  should  lose  any  one  of  its  most  beneficial 
exclusive  privileges, — that  of  wood,  for  example, — 
and  should  not  be  able  to  afford  the  bank,  to  which  the 
Maritime  Society  pays  five  per  cent  for  all  the  money 
it  there  borrows,  the  same  sources  of  profit  which  have 
hitherto  been  open. 

FIRST  POSTSCRIPT. — The  Minister  Schulemburg  has 
resigned ;  his  resignation  is  not  yet  accepted. 

The  King  yesterday  supped  with  his  daughter, 
Mademoiselle  Vierey — the  intimate  friend  of  Made- 
moiselle Voss,  and  placed  by  her  in  his  daughter's 
service  since  his  accession  to  the  throne — and  the  well- 
beloved.  Hence  it  should  seem  that  the  romance  draws 
toward  a  conclusion. 

It  is  more  than  ever  certain  that  the  King  transacts 
no  business,  and  that  he  is  mad  after  pleasure.  The 
secrets  of  the  palace  on  this  subject  are  very  ill-kept 
indeed;  and  nothing,  as  I  think,  can  better  prove  the 
feebleness  of  the  master,  the  little  awe  in  which  he  is 
held,  and  the  worthlessness  of  his  creatures. 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT. — The  King  is  so  terrified  by 
the  universal  clamor  which  the  capitation  tax  has  ex- 
cited, that  it  is  renounced.  Some  of  his  intimates 
to-day  spoke  to  me  of  substitutes;  but  what  can  be  ex- 
pected from  an  avaricious  and  weak  Prince,  whom 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      233 

two  days'  murmurings  have  caused  to  retreat,  and  to 
whom  we  can  only  say,  "  Tax  the  estates  of  the  nobil- 
ity, and  lend  out  some  of  your  millions ;  that  you  may 
procure  the  interest  which  nations  in  debt  are  obliged 
to  pay." 


LETTER   XLIX 

November  2istj  1786. 

THERE  are  suspicions — which  are  daily  strengthened 
— of  a  secret  negotiation  between  the  Emperor  and 
Prussia ;  or  at  least  that  propositions  have  been  made, 
either  by  the  first  or  reciprocally,  on  which  delibera- 
tions are  held.  I  neither  have  the  money  nor  the 
requisite  means  to  discover  what  they  are.  An  Am- 
bassador can  effect  anything  of  this  kind, '  and  with 
impunity.  But,  though  I  even  possessed  the  great 
engine  of  corruption,  what  danger  should  I  not  be  in, 
should  I  set  it  in  motion  ?  I  have  no  credentials,  direct 
or  indirect.  An  act  of  authority  might  dispose  of  me 
and  my  papers  in  an  instant;  and  I  should  be  ruined, 
here  and  elsewhere,  for  my  too  inconsiderate  zeal. 
Spur  on  your  Ambassador,  therefore,  or  hasten  to 
oppose  to  this  puissant  coalition,  which  nothing  could 
resist  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine,  the  system  of  union 
with  England,  the  basis  of  which  you  have  traced  out, 
and  which  shall  be  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Think 
on  Poland,  I  conjure  you.  What  they  have  done  (if 
they  did  not  extend  their  acquisitions  it  was  in  fact 
because  they  would  not)  they  will  again  do,  and  that 
even  without  the  intervention  of  Russia;  of  that  sleep- 
ing giant,  who,  waking,  may  change  the  face  of  the 
globe. 

In  truth,  it  is  the  coolness  between  the  two  Imperial 
Courts  which  most  confirms  the  suspicions  of  a  new 


234      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

system.  All  that  I  can  imagine,  concerning  its  founda- 
tion, is  that  its  pretext  is  the  election  of  a  King  of  the 
Romans,  and  its  purport  a  strict  alliance,  which  shall 
destroy  the  Germanic  confederation.  As  this  con- 
federation was  the  work  of  the  King  while  Prince  of 
Prussia,  or  as  he  wishes  to  believe  it  his,  and  as  he 
regards  it  as  a  masterpiece,  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
the  Emperor  will  succeed.  But,  if  the  news  of  yester- 
day be  true,  there  is  a  great  point  gained.  Advice  is 
received  that  the  Electress  Palatine  is  beyond  hope. 
Should  she  die,  the  Elector  would  marry  again  on  the 
morrow,  and  affairs  may  and  must  assume  a  different 
face.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  it  is  difficult  to  reflect  too 
seriously  on  this  subject.  For  my  own  part,  unless 
my  instructions  and  my  means  are  amplified,  I  only 
can  observe,  according  to  the  best  of  my  power,  the 
internal  acts  of  government  and  the  Court. 

The  reason  that  Count  Schulemburg,  one  of  the 
Ministers  of  State,  has  demanded  to  retire  is,  in  part, 
that  he  was  charged  to  carry  the  capitation  tax  into 
execution,  which  he  neither  conceived  nor  approved, 
and  which  he  truly  regarded  as  a  very  unpopular,  if 
not  a  very  odious,  office.  This  Minister,  a  man  of 
understanding,  and  who  would  have  again  been  at 
the  head  of  affairs  if,  at  his  first  cause  of  disgust,  he 
had  determined  to  resign  his  place,  is  infinitely  dis- 
agreeable to  the  domestic  agents.  The  long  favor  he 
has  enjoyed,  his  rapid  fortune,  and  his  watchful  per- 
spicacity, have  angered  or  disturbed  all  his  rivals. 
Neither  is  he  one  of  those  pliant  instruments  that  will 
bend  into  any  form.  The  incapacity  of  most  of  the 
other  Ministers  afforded  him  the  pretense  of  being 
obstinate  in  opinion.  The  absurdities  of  the  courtiers, 
not  to  say  their  extravagant  follies,  emboldened  him 
to  return  that  contempt  which  the  reputation  of  his 
abilities  incites  with  usury.  For  what  will  not  such  a 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      235 

reputation  eradicate,  especially  in  a  country  where 
men  are  so  scarce?  But  if,  as  it  is  said  (I  have  not 
yet  had  time  to  verify  the  fact),  there  be  a  coalition 
between  Struensee  and  Welner,  Schulemburg  is  un- 
done, for  they  will  no  longer  stand  in  need  of  him. 
As  he  made  illness  his  pretense,  the  King,  in  a  very 
friendly  letter,  only  accepted  his  resignation  per 
interim  and  on  condition  that  his  signature  should 
sanction  whatever  related  to  his  department. 

Meantime  the  Aulic  systems,  that  of  mysticism,  and 
the  favor  of  the  mystics,  are  continued,  or,  rather, 
increased  and  adorned.  The  Duke  of  Weimar  arrived 
here  last  night.  He  has  the  apartments  of  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick  at  the  palace.  This  Prince,  the  great 
apostle  of  the  fashionable  sect,  and  of  whom  I  spoke 
in  my  dispatches  from  Brunswick  and  Magdeburg, 
had  long  had  the  character  of  being  only  an  arbiter 
clcgantiarum;  a  zealous  promoter  of  letters  and  arts; 
an  economist  by  system;  and  a  spendthrift  by  tem- 
perament. I  some  months  since  suspected  him  of 
military  enthusiasm.  It  is  now  avowed.  He  comes 
to  enter  into  the  Prussian  service.  Such  generals  will 
never  renew  the  War  of  Seven  Years. 

In  other  respects  affairs  continue  the  same.  The 
King  invited  himself  to  sup  with  Prince  Henry  to- 
day. The  Prince,  who  continues  his  awkward  plans, 
stifling  his  pent-up  rage,  has  informed  the  foreign 
ambassadors  that  the  doors  of  his  palace  would  be 
opened  every  Monday,  and  that,  if  they  thought  proper 
to  form  card  parties  there,  he  should  receive  them 
with  pleasure.  He  wishes  to  change  the  custom  which 
hitherto  has  prohibited  all  who  appertain  to  the  corps 
diplomatique  from  eating  with  princes  of  the  blood, 
and  insensibly  to  invite  them  to  suppers.  His  credit  is 
at  the  lowest  ebb;  yet  I  still  believe,  would  he  perse- 
vere in  silence,  abstain  from  all  pretensions,  impatience, 


236      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

and  avidity  of  power,  he  would  highly  embarrass  the 
opposite  party,  and  would  at  length  be  triumphant. 

Murmurs  become  general  against  the  obscure  agents 
of  the  Cabinet;  and  the  nobility,  now  neglected  to 
make  room  for  the  Saxons,  would  be  better  pleased 
to  behold  a  prince  at  the  head  of  administration  than 
obscure  clerks,  who  never  can  acquire  great  and  ac- 
knowledged fortunes,  except  by  great  changes.  Yet 
the  aristocracy  is  little  dependent  on  such  subalterns, 
and  holds  them  in  little  dread. 

The  Duke  of  Courland  is  soon  to  arrive.  As  he  is 
to  be  reimbursed  considerable  sums,  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  whole  of  the  debts  of  the  Heir  Appar- 
ent, which  it  is  not  decent  to  have  left  unpaid  for  sev- 
eral months  after  his  accession,  will  then  be  discharged. 
This  fact,  combined  with  the  suppers  of  the  procur- 
esses, the  number  of  which  suppers  increases  at  the 
Princess  Frederica's,  and  for  which  purpose  her  estab- 
lishment has  evidently  been  granted,  seriously  attaint 
the  moral  character  of  the  King. 

Madame  de  F ,  who  would  not  depart  for  War- 
saw without  making  some  attempt,  yesterday  had  a 
very  gay  audience  of  the  King;  an  audience  of  anec- 
dote, at  which  he  complained  of  his  tiresome  trade, 
and  was  earnest  in  his  desires  that  she  should  remain 
at  Berlin;  reproached  her  with  having  stolen  the  por- 
trait of  Suck  from  him;  and  complained  to  her  of  the 

impoliteness  and  blunders  of  the  Prince  de  P ,  who 

thought  his  very  daughter,  the  Princess  Frederica, 
ugly  and  slatternly.  This  continued  an  hour,  and 

probably  if  Madame  de  F had  come  hither  with 

greater  precaution  and  for  a  longer  time,  she  might 
have  had  some  success.  But  it  is  a  being  so  perverse, 
so  avaricious,  and  so  dangerous,  that  it  is  perhaps 
best  she  should  travel  with  her  talents  elsewhere;  to 
Paris,  for  example,  where  she  is  known,  where  she 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      237 

would  not  increase  licentiousness,  and  never  could 
obtain  any  important  influence;  whereas,  if  admitted 
to  the  privy  council  of  Kings,  she  might  set  Europe  in 
flames  to  obtain  money,  or  even  for  her  own  private 
diversion.  I  took  advantage  of  the  moment  that  she 
thought  proper  to  depart  from  the  route  I  had  traced 
out,  to  reiterate  my  information  that  her  proceedings 
might  have  consequences  much  more  serious  than  re- 
sult from  wounded  vanity,  and  to  declare  I  no  longer 
should  be  a  party  concerned. 

1.  Because  it  did  not  become  me  to  risk  my  char- 
acter, in  an  affair  where  my  advice  was  not  followed. 

2.  And  because  the  ambition  of  ladies  has  not,  can- 
not have,  the  same  motives,  principles,  proceedings, 
and  conclusions,  as  that  of  a  man  who  has  a  respect 
for  himself. 

Should  she  succeed,  which  appears  to  me  impossible, 
she  is  too  much  in  my  power  to  escape  my  influence. 

POSTSCRIPT. — Lord  Dalrymple,  it  is  reported,  is  re- 
called, and  Ewart  remains  at  the  head  of  the  embassy 
without  a  superior.  Dalrymple  is  a  man  of  honor  and 
sense;  sometimes  wearisome,  because  he  is  contin- 
ually wearied,  but  endowed  with  more  understanding 
than  will  be  believed  by  those  who  have  not  carefully 
observed  him;  and  also  with  generous,  liberal,  and 
fixed  principles.  If  pacific  coalition  be  sincerely  in- 
tended, it  is  necessary  to  bring  Dalrymple  Ambassador 
to  Paris.  With  respect  to  Ewart,  I  believe  the  Cab- 
inet at  St.  James's  finds  it  convenient  to  maintain  a 
spy  here,  who  is  the  intimate  friend  of  one  Minister 
and  the  son-in-law  of  another.  But  what  can  be  al- 
leged in  excuse  of  the  Cabinet  of  Berlin,  that  shall 
tolerate  such  an  encumbrance?  This  is  but  public 
report,  which  I  suspect. 

Commissions  of  inquiry  begin  to  be   fashionable; 


238      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

one  has  lately  been  appointed  to  examine  the  monopoly 
of  sugars.  The  people  of  Hamburg  offered  to  supply 
the  same  articles  at  less  than  half  price. 

Another  to  examine  the  cloth  manufactory. 

Another  the  wood  monopoly,  which  is  to  be  reduced 
to  half  its  present  price  (independent  of  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  company,  by  which  it  is  furnished).  But 
how  ?  By  what  means  ?  The  change  is  assuredly  one 
of  the  most  urgent,  and  the  most  profitable  that  could 
be  made  for  the  country ;  but  the  abolition  of  all  these 
monopolies,  sugar  excepted,  which  is  granted  to  an 
individual,  supposes  the  destruction  of  the  Maritime 
Company,  that  strange  firm,  which  has  promised  the 
proprietors  a  dividend  of  ten  per  cent,  be  circum- 
stances what  they  may.  This  fantastic  superstructure 
cannot  be  pulled  down,  unless  by  a  very  able  hand, 
without  risk  of  danger  from  its  ruins.  Therefore,  in 
his  letter  to  the  Minister  Schulemburg,  the  King  re- 
nounces this  project,  and  commands  that  it  should  be 
contradicted  in  all  the  public  papers.  What  a  fluctua- 
tion of  plans,  orders,  and  intentions!  What  poverty 
of  power  and  of  means! 


LETTER    L 

November  24th,  1786. 

COUNT  HERTZBERG  has  made  a  new  attempt  to  inter- 
fere in  the  affairs  of  Holland,  which  had  been 
interdicted  him  by  the  King,  and  has  presented  a 
memorial  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  pretends  to  prove 
that  crowned  heads  have  several  times  stood  forth  as 
mediators  between  the  States  and  the  Stadtholder ;  and 
that  the  insidious  reply  of  France  stated  that  as  fact 
which  was  in  dispute.  Prince  Henry  believes  this  me- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      239 

morial  has  produced  some  effect.  I  have  my  reasons 
for  being  of  a  different  opinion;  however,  I  informed 
him  that,  if  he  could  procure  me  a  copy,  its  futility 
should  soon  be  demonstrated.  I  doubt  whether  he  has 
even  thus  much  power. 

Here  let  me  remark,  we  are  reconciled.  I  refused 
two  invitations,  and  he  has  made  every  kind  of  advance 
to  me,  which  decorum  requires  I  should  receive  with 
politeness. 

The  journey  of  the  Duke  of  Weimar  certainly  had 
no  other  end  but  that  of  his  admission  into  the  Prus- 
sian service,  which  is  to  strengthen  the  rising  fame  of 
the  Germanic  confederation.  This  prince  in  reality 
warmly  protects  the  system  of  those  who  find,  in  the 
depth  of  their  mystical  abilities,  rules  for  governing  a 
kingdom.  The  favor  in  which  these  systems  are  held 
continually  increases  in  fervor;  or  rather,  is  become 
visible,  for  it  never  was  cool.  The  brother  of  the 
Margrave  of  Baden,  a  fashionable  enthusiast,  has  a 
natural  son,  for  whom  he  wishes  to  provide.  This  is 
the  great  affair  of  which  he  is  come  hither  personally 
to  treat,  and  he  has  met  a  miraculously  kind  welcome. 

Business  is  not  quite  so  well.  There  is  so  much 
confusion  in  domestic  affairs  that  the  King  only  issues 
money  on  account  to  the  various  officers  of  the  house- 
hold. It  is  determined  that  all  his  debts,  while  Prince 
of  Prussia,  are  to  be  paid ;  that  the  Prince  Royal  shall 
have  an  establishment,  and  a  table  of  ten  covers;  that 
the  Princess  Frederica  shall  have  another,  equal  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Queen;  and  that  the  period 
when  these  arrangements  are  to  take  place  is  to  be 
after  the  statements  of  expense  have  been  formed. 

The  army  is  discontented. 

1.  Because  the  King  appears  on  the  parade  only 
once  a  week. 

2.  Because  commissions  of  major  and  lieutenant 


240      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

colonel  are  multiplied  to  satiety  (for  example,  all  the 
captains  who  have  been  in  actual  service  have  obtained 
them;  this  is  the  second  chapter  of  titles,  and  patents 
of  nobility,  by  scores) ;  a  favor  which  never  was 
formerly  granted,  not  even  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
greatest  princes. 

3.  Because  much  is  talked  of,  little  done;  because 
few  are  punished,  and  little  is  required;  and,  in  a 
word,  because  the  army  does  not  now,  as  formerly, 
absorb  the  whole  attention  of  the  Sovereign. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Manstein  diminishes  the 
credit  of  the  aide-de-camp  Goltz,  who  has  become  a 
count,  and  who,  in  what  relates  to  military  affairs, 
has  evidently  more  influence  than  his  rivals.  He  has 
great  abilities,  without  having  such  as  are  necessary 
to  that  place,  which,  in  fact,  is  equivalent  to  that  of 
minister  for  the  war  department. 

It  is  the  subject  of  astonishment  to  the  few  men  of 
observation  who  are  attentive  to  whatever  may  lead 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  moral  character  of  the  new 
King,  that  he  should  behave  so  coldly  to  one  of  his 
aides-de-camp  named  Boulet,  whom  I  have  before 
several  times  mentioned.  Boulet  is  a  French  refugee 
of  no  superior  understanding;  an  honest  man,  with 
little  ambition ;  a  very  ordinary  engineer,  though  here 
a  distinguished  one,  because  here  there  are  none.  He 
has  been  twenty  years  attached  to  the  Monarch,  but 
never  was  admitted  a  party  in  his  secret  pleasures, 
which  were  formerly  almost  necessary  to  support  the 
solitude  of  Potsdam  and  the  hatred  of  the  late  King. 
He  neither  increases  nor  diminishes  in  favor,  and  his 
influence  is  almost  a  nullity.  Such  a  repugnance  for 
a  man  of  some  consequence  in  his  profession,  and  who 
neither  can  offend  nor  disgust,  is  enigmatical. 

It  is  nearly  certain  that  the  capitation  plan  will  be 
rejected.  This  hasty  expedient  would  not  have  been 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      241 

a  substitute  equal  to  their  wants.  But  you  must  feel 
how  much  so  many  variations  will  diminish  all  con- 
fidence in  the  subaltern  and  concealed  administrators, 
who  act  instead  of  the  ministers;  and  how  every  cir- 
cumstance occurs  to  render  a  prime  minister  necessary. 
Nothing  seems  determined  on  except  a  desire  to 
change.  There  is  no  system;  for  I  cannot  call  the 
vague  desire  of  easing  the  people  by  that  term;  nor 
any  regular  plans,  formed  from  knowledge,  examina- 
tion, and  reflection. 

None  of  the  difficulties,  for  example,  had  been  fore- 
seen that  arise  from  the  suppression  of  the  monopoly 
and  administration  of  tobacco,  which  afforded  an 
asylum  to  twelve  hundred  invalids,  army  subalterns, 
and  even  lieutenants.  These  invalids  must  live,  and  be 
maintained  by  the  King.  Nor  is  this  all.  Shares  in 
the  tobacco  company  originally  cost  a  thousand 
crowns,  and  brought  in  eleven  per  cent ;  the  price  after- 
ward rose  to  fourteen  hundred  crowns.  The  contract 
granted  by  the  late  King  was  to  be  in  force  to  the 
year  1793.  Should  the  King  buy  in  these  shares,  at  a 
thousand  crowns  each,  this  would  be  unjust;  since 
they  have  been  purchased  at  fourteen  hundred,  on  the 
faith  of  a  contract  of  which  seven  years  are  unexpired. 
If  he  should  pay  interest  for  them,  at  the  rate  of  eight 
per  cent  till  the  year  1793,  he  must  then  himself  be- 
come a  loser.  Would  it  not  have  been  better  not  to 
have  made  any  change  till  the  contract  should  expire 
of  itself,  or  till  he  had  found  a  proper  substitute? 
The  effects  which  are  the  representatives  of  the  capi- 
tal, consist  in  utensils,  warehouses,  houses,  carriages, 
etc.,  etc.  These  cannot  all  be  sold  without  a  loss, 
which  must  likewise  fall  on  the  King.  The  monopoly 
was  burdened  with  pensions,  bestowed  on  persons  by 
whom  they  had  been  merited;  or,  if  you  please,  ob- 
tained for  that  very  affair  which  paid  those  pensions. 


242      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

They  must  hereafter  be  discharged  by  some  other 
fund,  etc. 

Heaven  forbid  I  should  pretend  such  difficulties 
ought  not  to  be  surmounted!  Improvement  would 
then  be  accomplished.  But  they  ought  to  have  been 
foreseen,  which  they  have  not;  so  that  the  public  only 
perceives,  in  this  suppression,  a  real  evil  in  return  for 
an  unasked  good.  This  mania  to  undersell  the  smug- 
glers, or  to  destroy  illicit  trade,  if  great  care  be  not 
taken,  will  be  more  injurious  to  the  people  than  the 
trade  itself  was  to  the  State.  Opposition  to  contraband 
trade  ought  to  be  the  consequence  of  one  comprehen- 
sive system;  and  those  are  short-sighted  views  which 
endeavor  to  correct  partial  abuses,  that  appertain  to 
the  general  vices  of  administration.  The  refining  of 
sugar,  the  fabricating  of  arms,  silk,  gauze,  stuffs, 
cloths,  in  a  word,  whatever  relates  to  industry,  all  are 
directed  by  regulations  destructive  to  commerce.  But 
may  all  this  vanish  by  a  single  act  of  volition?  Im- 
possible; without  producing  convulsions  in  the  State. 
And  thus  the  truth  and  benevolence  discredited,  and 
kings  discouraged.  Woe  to  him  who  pulls  down  with- 
out precaution ! 

The  principles  of  the  two  Kings,  concerning  their 
personal  dignity,  appear  to  be  so  different  as  to  give 
room  for  reflection,  relative  to  this  country.  When 
Frederick  II.  established  the  coffee  monopoly,  the 
citizens  of  Potsdam  wrere  daring  enough  to  load  a 
cart  with  coffeepots  and  coffeemills,  to  drive  it  through 
the  town  and  overturn  it  into  the  river.  Frederick, 
who  was  a  spectator  of  this  burlesque  procession, 
opened  his  window  and  laughed  heartily.  Here  we 
have  an  anecdote  of  him  whom  they  call  the  Tiberius 
of  Prussia.  The  following  is  another  of  the  Prussian 
Titus : 

The  day  before  yesterday,  the  clerk  of  a  merchant, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      243 

named  Olier,  was  imprisoned;  and  he  was  not  in- 
formed, till  the  morning  after,  that  the  cause  of  his 
imprisonment  was  some  trifling  speech  relative  to  the 
King ;  and  that,  should  he  commit  a  similar  offense,  the 
dungeon  would  give  a  good  account  of  him !  Such  are 
the  first  fruits  of  a  gloomy  internal  administration,  of 
which  the  vanity  and  poverty  of  mind  of  the  King 
have  been  productive.  What  a  foreboding  of  tyranny, 
—whether  it  be  royal,  or,  which  is  worse,  subaltern! 
Under  what  circumstances,  and  in  what  a  country! 
There,  where  the  master,  whose  vanity  is  so  irascible, 
wishes  to  appear  good ;  and  where  there  is  no  counter- 
poise to  his  power,  in  the  public  opinion;  for  the  public 
has  no  opinion ! 

The  commission  of  inquiry,  sitting  on  Launay,  re- 
mains silent,  retards  its  proceedings,  forces  or  seeks 
for  facts,  and  decides  on  nothing.  Du  Bosc  is  very 
industrious.  Two  merchants  are  arrived  from  each 
province,  who  are  to  give  their  advice,  relative  to  the 
best  manner  of  rendering  trade  flourishing.  It  is  not 
yet  known  here  that,  though  merchants  only  should 
be  trusted  with  the  execution  of  a  commercial  plan, 
they  never  should  be  consulted  concerning  a  general 
system;  because  their  views  and  their  interests  are 
always  partial.  One  of  them,  however,  has  given  ad- 
vice which  is  very  sage,  in  the  present  state  of  affairs ; 
and  that  is  to  forbid  the  silk  manufactories,  which 
are  all  on  the  royal  establishment,  to  make  any  but 
plain  silks.  Should  they  determine  so  to  do,  the  King 
of  Prussia  may  supply  Sweden,  Poland,  and  a  part  of 
Russia. 

The  Princess  Elizabeth,  the  divorced  consort  of  the 
King,  has  requested  to  have  a  place  five  miles  from 
Berlin,  and  that  his  Majesty  would  appoint  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  who  shall  be  her  attendants.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  the  attempts  this  Princess  makes  have  been 


244      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

suggested  to  her  by  an  adroit  and  intriguing  officer; 
but  it  is  not  she  who  will  become  formidable  to  the 
Queen,  though  I  really  dare  not  say  so  much  for  Ma- 
demoiselle Voss.  What  must  be  the  destiny  of  a 
country  which  soon  is  to  be  divided  among  priests, 
mystics,  and  prostitutes  ? 

In  despite  of  all  my  diligence  to  divine  what  is  in 
treaty  with  the  Court  of  Vienna,  I  can  only  form  con- 
jectures. However,  when  I  reflect  that  the  Prussian 
Ambassador  to  Austria  is  an  incapable  person,  Count 
Podewils ;  and  that  the  Emperor's  Ambassador,  Prince 
Reuss  has  not  altered  his  conduct;  that  Prince  Henry, 
though  generally  ill-informed,  would  have  some  posi- 
tive intelligence,  if  anything  positive  had  been  done, 
and  that  he  has  only  vague  suspicion, — I  scarcely  can 
believe  any  important  or  probable  revolution  is  on  the 
tapis.  Did  the  Prince  (Henry)  possess  but  one  of  the 
twenty  wills  of  which  he  is  composed,  and  which  do 
not  all  form  the  equivalent  of  a  whole,  so  that  he  could 
expend  his  money  properly,  and  act  with  consistency, 
his  superior  information  must  give  him  a  great  ascen- 
dency in  the  Cabinet. 

But  why  do  we  not  rid  ourselves  of  this  complica- 
tion of  political  affairs,  by  at  once  changing  our 
foreign  system,  and  "breaking  down  the  only  opposing 
barrier?  I  mean  to  say,  by  respectable  arrangements 
and  sincere  advances.  Why  do  we  not  stifle  commer- 
cial jealousy,  that  mother  of  national  animosity,  which 
has  silenced  good  sense,  and  pompously  predicted, 
supported  by  the  sophisms  of  mercantile  cupidity,  that 
total  ruin,  whether  it  be  for  France  or  England,  must 
be  the  result  of  the  unfavorable  balance  to  which  a 
freedom  of  trade  could  not  fail  to  give  birth?  Is  it, 
then,  so  difficult  to  demonstrate  that  the  trade  of 
France  might  be  much  more  advantageous  to  Great 
Britain  than  that  of  any  other  country,  and  vice  versa? 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      245 

Who  that  will  but  open  his  eyes  will  not  see  the  reason  ? 
It  is  in  the  will  of  Nature,  by  which  those  monarchies 
are  nearer  each  other  than  they  are  to  other  countries. 
The  returns  of  the  trade  which  might  be  carried  on 
between  the  southern  coast  of  England  and  northwest 
of  France  might  take  place  five  or  six  times  a  year,  as 
in  the  more  internal  commerce.  The  capital  employed 
in  this  trade  might  therefore,  in  both  countries,  be  pro- 
ductive of  five  or  six  times  its  present  quantity  of 
industry,  and  might  afford  employment  and  subsistence 
to  six  times  as  many  inhabitants  as  the  same  capital 
could  effect  in  most  other  branches  of  foreign  trade. 
Between  those  parts  of  France  and  Great  Britain 
which  are  most  distant  from  each  other,  the  returns 
might  at  least  be  made  once  a  year ;  and  would  conse- 
quently be  thrice  as  profitable  as  the  trade,  formerly 
so  much  vaunted,  with  North  America;  in  which  the 
returns  usually  took  place  only  once  in  three,  and  very 
frequently  only  once  in  four  or  five  years.  The  sage 
Smith  asks,  "If  we  consider  its  population,  wants, 
and  wealth,,  is  not  France  at  least  a  market  eight  times 
more  extensive  (for  England),  and,  by  reason  of  its 
quick  returns,  twenty-four  times  more  advantageous 
than  ever  was  that  of  the  English  colonies  of  North 
America?"  It  is  not  less,  or  rather,  it  is  more  evident 
that  the  trade  with  Great  Britain  would  be  in  an  equal 
degree  useful  to  France,  in  proportion  to  the  wealth, 
population,  and  proximity  of  the  two  countries.  It 
would  eventually  have  the  same  superiority  over  that 
which  France  has  made  with  her  colonies.  Oh,  human 
folly!  What  labors  do  we  undertake  to  deprive  our- 
selves of  the  benefits  of  Nature!  How  prodigious  a 
difference  between  that  trade  which  the  politics  of  the 
two  nations  have  thought  it  right  to  discourage,  and 
that  which  has  been  the  most  favored !  It  appears  to 
me  that  a  work  which  should  develop  these  ideas,  and 


246      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

which  begin  no  longer  to  be  thought  monstrous  by  the 
English,  would  be  very  useful,  and  could  not  be  in- 
trusted to  a  man  of  too  great  abilities. 

POSTSCRIPT. — I  have  circumstantial  evidence  that 
the  King  is  more  than  ever  indolent.  Letters  are  an- 
swered in  eight  or  ten  days,  and  in  a  more  long  and 
careful  manner  than  under  the  late  King;  which  suffi- 
ciently proves  that  secretaries  have  great  interference. 
Yet  what  must  we  say  of  a  Cabinet  in  which  the  King 
never  acts,  although  it  is  impossible  to  cite  any 
minister  whose  influence  has  effected  such  or  such  a 
thing?  Even  into  the  assembly  of  the  general  direc- 
tory, which  sits  twice  a  week,  the  King  never  comes. 
And  this  is  the  King  who  wishes  to  change  the  fiscal 
system !  None  but  a  Hercules  can  cleanse  the  Augean 
stables. 


LETTER  LI 

November  2&th,  1786. 

PEOPLE  are  not  agreed  concerning  the  kind  of  services 
which  the  committee  of  merchants,  convoked  from  the 
different  provinces,  may  render  Government.  These 
good  folks  are  highly  astonished  to  hear  themselves 
consulted  on  affairs  of  State;  for  there  is  as  great  a 
distance  between  them  and  Mont-Audouin  and  Pre- 
mores,  as  there  is  between  the  Prussian  Ministers  and 
our  Sully  and  Colbert.  The  question  should  be  to  re- 
verse the  general  and  fundamental  system,  and  they 
seek  only  palliatives.  The  blood  is  infected,  and  instead 
of  purifying  it,  they  endeavor  but  to  heal  this  or  that 
ulcer.  They  will  inflame  the  gangrene,  and  render 
the  virus  more  envenomed. 

There  are  great  disputes  concerning  the  manufac- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      247 

tures.  But,  good  God !  ought  they  to  begin  with  these  ? 
And,  should  they  well  and  clearly  have  determined 
which  were  necessary  to  preserve,  and  which  to 
neglect,  ought  they  not,  before  they  prescribe  rules,  to 
assume  as  a  datum — that  Berlin  is  not  a  place  for 
manufacturers ;  because  that  the  dearness  of  the  labor, 
local,  and  national  inconveniences,  etc.,  etc.,  are  there 
united;  and  because  that  the  establishment  of  manu- 
factures must  there  become  a  disastrous  extravagance? 
for  which  reason  the  manufacturers  themselves  carry 
on  a  contraband  trade,  and  sell  French  for  Prussian 
stuffs.  As  they  have  no  competitors,  they  affix  what 
price  they  please  on  their  merchandise;  and,  as  nothing 
is  easier  than  to  smuggle,  they  take  a  part  of  their 
goods  to  the  fairs  of  Frankfort,  which  they  sell  or  do 
not  sell,  as  it  shall  happen,  and  purchase  Lyons  silks, 
to  which  they  affix  Berlin  stamps,  and  enter  them 
without  any  other  precaution,  or  the  least  risk :  since 
the  customhouse  officers  of  the  barriers,  who  are  in- 
valids either  of  the  Court  or  army,  cannot  distinguish 
whether  what  is  shown  them  is  taffeta  or  satin;  still 
less,  whether  it  be  woven  at  Lyons  or  Berlin.  This 
city  neither  possesses  industry,  emulation,  taste, 
genius,  nor  money,  to  effect  such  changes.  Another 
age,  and  I  know  not  how  many  transitions  among  the 
Germans,  are  necessary  for  them  to  imitate  that  luxury 
of  embellishment  for  which  they  have  the  folly  to 
wish.  Incapable  of  choosing  between  that  which  is 
possible  and  proper,  and  that  which  is  chimerical  and 
injurious,  without  means,  principles,  or  system,  the 
present  attempts  of  these  men,  to  which  they  owe  their 
ephemeral  existence,  will  have  no  other  effect  than 
that  of  leading,  the  King  first,  and  afterward  the 
vulgar  and  the  foolish,  to  believe  that  the  evil  is  ir- 
reparable. 

The  inheritance  of  the  margraviate  of  Schwedt  is 


248      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

an  affair  at  this  moment,  which,  in  other  hands,  might 
have  important  consequences.  The  Margrave  ap- 
proaches his  end.  After  the  partition  of  Poland,  the 
late  King  wrote  to  his  brother,  Prince  Henry,  that  he 
was  desirous  of  bestowing  on  him  a  peculiar  mark  of 
his  friendship  and  gratitude,  for  the  service  he  had 
rendered  the  State.  Frederick  thought  he  should  have 
rid  himself  of  his  promise  by  a  statue;  but  he  was 
privately  given  to  understand  that  fame  was  left  to  the 
care  of  posterity,  and  that  the  present  question  was 
an  increase  of  possession.  A  few  months  afterward, 
the  Margrave  of  Schwedt,  brother  of  the  present 
Margrave  died;  the  King  seized  the  occasion  to  re- 
lease himself  from  his  word.  In  a  very  authentic 
patent,  and  at  a  long  term,  he  conferred  on  Prince 
Henry  the  reversion  of  the  margraviate,  on  condition 
that  he  should  discharge  all  the  burdens  with  which 
this  great  fief  is  loaded.  Frederick  dies,  and  his  succes- 
sor declares  that  all  survivances,  and  donations  in  fu- 
ture, etc.,  are  null,  and  that  he  will  not  confirm  them. 
Prince  Henry  finds  himself  among  the  number  of 
those  on  whom  reversions  were  bestowed.  There  is 
little  probability  these  lands  will  be  given  him.  The 
question  is,  will  he  or  will  he  not  have  any  compensa- 
tion? 

Prince  Henry  certainly  has  pretenses  to  exclaim 
against  ingratitude,  and  exclaim  he  will.  There  it  will 
end.  Melancholy  mad  at  one  moment,  he  will  rave 
the  next ;  and  thus,  giving  vent  to  his  griefs,  will  save 
his  life;  for  mute  affliction  only  is  dangerous. 

Those,  however,  who  are  not  among  his  partisans, 
will  observe  this  proceeding  with  the  greatest  in- 
quietude, because  it  begins  to  appear  that  even  the 
personal  promises  of  the  King  are  susceptible  of  waver- 
ing. I  spoke  to  you  in  one  of  my  dispatches  of 
the  restitution  of  some  baillmgcs  to  the  Duke  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      249 

Mecklenburg,  which  had  been  promised  to  the  envoy 
of  the  Duke  by  the  King  himself.  He  has  since  with- 
drawn, or  at  least  suspended,  his  promise.  So  much 
facility  in  departing  from  recent  engagements,  com- 
bined with  the  clamors  of  the  people,  and  the  exclusive 
contracts  that  are  trodden  under  foot  without  pity, 
appear  to  be  but  ill  omens.  It  has  been  inserted,  for 
example,  BY  COMMAND,  in  the  public  papers,  "that  the 
King  declares  to  all  the  army  clothiers  that,  from 
paternal  motives," — all  of  which  have  been  announced 
with  emphasis,  as  you  will  see  in  every  gazette, — "the 
King  annuls  their  contracts ;  even  those  that  have  been 
recently  confirmed."  Which  clause  is  the  more 
gratuitously  odious  and  absurd,  as  he  had  not  con- 
firmed anyone;  he  therefore,  need  not  have  taken  the 
trouble  SOLEMNLY  to  inform  his  subjects  that  he  knew 
very  well  how,  when  occasion  should  serve,  SOLEMNLY 
to  break  his  word. 

The  King  spoke  to  me  yesterday  concerning  the 
woolen  manufactory.  I  endeavored  to  make  him 
understand  that,  before  we  pulled  down  our  house, 
we  should  know  where  to  find  a  lodging,  or  how  we 
might  dispose  of  the  ruins.  He  answered  me>  laugh- 
ing, "Oh!  Schmits  is  your  banker."  (He  is  the  con- 
tractor for  this  manufactory.)  "Very  true,  Sire," 
replied  I ;  "but  he  has  not  hitherto  made  me  a  present 
of  the  money  which  has  been  remitted  me  through  his 
hands."  This  may  show  you  what  engines  are  set  at 
work  to  keep  me  at  a  distance.  The  following  is  a 
more  circumstantial  proof: 

I  was  six  days  very  ill,  and  did  not  make  my  appear- 
ance at  Court,  which  I  the  less  regretted  because  that 
nothing  is  learned  in  such  grand  company.  The  day 
before  yesterday,  the  King  said  at  his  Lotto,  "Where 
is  the  Comte  de  Mirabeau?  It  is  an  age  since  I  saw 
him."  "That  is  not  astonishing,  Sire,"  said  one  of  the 


250      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

household.  "He  passes  his  time  at  the  house  of 
Struensee,  with  Messrs.  Biester  and  Nicolai."  You 
must  understand  that  Biester  and  Nicolai  are  two 
learned  Germans,  who  have  written  much  against 
Lavater  and  the  mystics;  that  they  never  enter  the 
house  of,  nor  are  they,  as  I  believe,  personally  ac- 
quainted with,  Struensee.  The  intention  was  to  lead 
the  King  to  suppose  I  was  an  anti-mystic. 

The  appointment  of  Count  Charles  Bruhl  to  the 
place  of  Governor  of  the  Prince  Royal  has  made  the 
party  more  than  ever  triumphant.  To  the  merit  of 
appertaining  to  that  honorable  sect,  Count  Leppel,  the 
most  incapable  and  ridiculous  of  men,  is  indebted  for 
his  Swedish  Embassy;  as  are  Baron  Doernberg  for 
favors  of  every  kind,  Prince  Frederick  for  his  inti- 
macy, the  Duke  of  Weimar,  the  brother  of  the  Mar- 
grave of  Baden,  and  the  Prince  of  Dessau  for  their 
success,  and  the  courtiers  that  surround  the  King  for 
their  influence  and  favor.  It  looks  like  a  tacit  con- 
federacy, and  that  there  is  a  determination  to  admit 
none  but  proved  and  fervent  sectaries  into  adminis- 
tration. No  one  dares  combat  them;  everybody  bows 
before  them.  The  slaves  of  the  Court  and  the  city, 
who  were  not  the  first  to  yield,  mutter  disapprobation, 
and,  by  degrees,  will  range  themselves  on  the  side  of 
the  prevailing  party. 

There  is  no  parasite,  however  great,  that  attempts 
to  excuse  the  prostitution  of  titles,  patents  of  nobility, 
ribbons,  academical  places,  and  military  promotions, 
which  daily  is  aggravated.  Seventeen  majors,  for  ex- 
ample, have  been  made,  merely  in  acquittal  of  vague 
and  inconsiderate  promises ;  and  that  there  may  be  the 
semblance  of  recollecting,  at  LITTLE  expense,  hopes 
that  he  had  been  given  when  every  LITTLE  aid  \vas  ac- 
ceptable. 

The  King  makes  himself  too  public  not  to  talk  very 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      251 

idly.  It  would  be  better  that,  at  the  commencement  of 
a  reign,  the  Prussian  Monarch  should  not  find  time 
daily  to  have  a  tiresome  concert,  or  a  more  languid 
Lotto;  especially  when  the  world  knows  the  nothings, 
or  the  worse,  that  employ  his  mornings.  He  more  and 
more  every  day,  constitutes  himself  the  redresser  of 
the  wrongs  committed  by  his  uncle.  Those  colonels 
or  generals  that  were  dismissed  return  to  the  army 
with  the  promotions  or  appointments  that  recompense 
their  sufferings.  The  counselors  that  formerly  were 
degraded,  concerning  the  affair  of  the  miller  Arnold, 
have  been  reinstated  in  their  functions.  To  say  the 
truth,  their  punishment  was  one  of  the  most  iniquitous 
of  the  acts  of  Frederick  II.  But  his  principal  victim, 
the  Chancellor  Fiirst,  has  hitherto  been  forgotten. 
His  great  age,  indeed,  will  not  permit  him  to  occupy 
any  post.  But  some  solemn  mark  of  good  will,  some 
flattering  recompense  of  strict  justice,  while  so  many 
other  recompenses  are  granted,  which  are  favors  that 
are  often  more  than  suspicious — would  this  be  im- 
possible? 

Under  the  late  reign,  the  mines  solely  depended  on 
the  minister  of  that  department.  An  arrangement  has 
just  been  made,  according  to  which  four  tribunals, 
erected  in  the  provinces,  greatly  moderate  his  au- 
thority; and  this  was  very  necessary  in  a  country 
where  the  public  right  of  the  mines  was  the  most  re- 
volting tyranny.  But  the  arrangement  does  not  an- 
nounce the  disgrace  of  Heinitz.  He  has,  on  the  con- 
trary, had  several  new  departments  committed  to  his 
charge  within  this  fortnight;  and  particularly  some 
that  belonged  to  Schulemburg.  It  is  a  part  of  the  plan 
to  restore  all  things  to  the  state  in  which  they  were 
left  by  Frederick  William  in  1740.  This  criticism  on 
the  last  reign  may  be  vengeance  dearly  purchased.  At 
least  it  is  necessary  to  be  consistent;  and,  since  the 


252      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS   OF 

grand  directory  has  been  restored  according  to  its  first 
institution,  it  ought  not  to  be  left  in  indolence,  and  in 
a  state  of  humiliating  insufficiency.  The  dismission 
of  the  Minister  Gaudi  is  reported,  who  is  the  man  by 
whom  Government  might  best  profit,  if  he  were  em- 
ployed. This  conspiracy  against  capacity  and  knowl- 
edge, with  good  reason,  alarms  those  who  know  the 
persons  that  inspire  predilection. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  there  is  here,  at  this  moment, 
an  acquisition  to  be  made,  worthy  of  the  King  of 
France,  and  M.  de  Calonne  is  the  very  man  who  ought 
to  lay  the  proposal  before  his  Majesty.  The  illustrious 
La  Grange,  the  greatest  mathematician  that  has  ap- 
peared since  Newton,  and  who,  by  his  understanding 
and  genius,  is  the  man  in  all  Europe  who  has  most 
astonished  me;  La  Grange,  the  most  sage,  and  perhaps 
the  only  true  practical  philosopher  that  has  ever 
existed;  worthy  to  be  commended  for  the  pertinacious 
calmness  of  his  mind,  his  manners,  and  his  conduct; 
in  a  word,  a  man  affectionately  respected  by  the  small 
number  of  men  whom  he  would  admit  to  be  of  his 
acquaintance;  this  La  Grange  has  lived  twenty  years 
at  Berlin,  whither  he  was  invited,  in  his  youth  by  the 
late  King,  to  succeed  Euler,  who  had  himself  pointed 
him  out  as  the  only  man  proper  to  be  his  successor. 
He  is  much  disgusted,  silently  but  irremediably  dis- 
gusted, because  that  his  disgust  originates  in  contempt. 
The  passions,  brutalities,  and  lunatic  boastings  of 
Hertzberg;  the  addition  of  so  many  as  Academicians 
with  whom  La  Grange  cannot,  without  blushing,  as- 
sociate; the  very  prudent  dread  of  seeing  himself  held 
in  painful  suspense,  between  the  philosophic  repose 
which  he  regards  as  the  first  good,  and  that  respect 
which  he  owes  himself,  and  which  he  will  not  suffer  to 
be  insulted;  all  induce  him  to  retire  from  a  country 
where  the  crime  of  being  a  foreigner  is  not  to  be  for- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      253 

given,  and  where  he  will  not  support  an  existence, 
which  will  only  be  tolerated.  It  cannot  be  doubted  but 
that  he  would  willingly  exchange  the  sun  and  the  coin 
of  Prussia  for  the  sun  and  the  coin  of  France,  the 
only  country  on  earth  where  men  pay  homage  to  the 
genius  of  science,  and  confer  lasting  fame;  the  only 
country  where  La  Grange,  the  grandson  of  a  French- 
man, and  who  gratefully  recollects  that  we  have  made 
him  known  to  Europe,  would  delight  to  live,  if  he  must 
renounce  his  old  friends  and  the  abode  of  his  youth. 
Prince  Cardito  di  Laffredo,  Ambassador  from  Naples 
to  Copenhagen,  has  made  him  the  handsomest  offers, 
in  the  name  of  his  Sovereign.  He  has  received  press- 
ing invitations  from  the  Grand  Duke  .and  the  King  of 
Sardinia.  But  all  these  proposals  would  easily  be 
forgotten,  if  put  in  competition  with  ours.  And  will 
not  the  King  of  France  likewise,  aided  by  a  worthy 
comptroller  general,  at  the  time  when  he  would  extend 
that  empire  of  benevolence  which  appertains  to  him 
alone — would  not  the  King  of  France  endeavor  to  ac- 
quire a  man  whose  merit  is  known  to  all  Europe?  La 
Grange  here  receives  a  pension  of  six  thousand  livres. 
And  cannot  the  King  of  France  dedicate  that  sum  to 
the  first  mathematician  of  the  age?  Is  it  beneath 
Louis  XVI.  to  invite  a  great  man,  from  a  miserable 
academy,  who  is  there  misunderstood,  misallied,  and 
thus,  by  the  most  noble  warfare,  to  extirpate  the  only 
literary  corps  that  has  wrestled  against  his  proper 
academies?  Would  not  this  act  of  generosity  be 
superior  to  those  that  are  usually  performed  ?  France, 
with  pernicious  policy,  has  been  the  asylum  of 
Princes,  with  whose  necessities  she  was  burdened. 
Why  will  she  not  welcome  a  great  man  who  would 
but  add  to  her  worth  ?  Has  she  so  long  enriched  others 
with  her  losses,  and  will  she  not  enrich  herself  by 
others'  errors  ?  In  fine,  to  speak  of  the  Minister  I  love, 


254      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

one  De  Boynes  has  given  eighteen  thousand  livres  a 
year,  for  a  useless  place,  to  one  Boscovich, — a  man  de- 
spised by  all  the  learned  of  Europe,  as  a  literary  quack 
of  poor  abilities;  and  why  will  not  M.  de  Calonne 
grant  a  pension  of  two  thousand  crowns  to  the  first 
man  in  Europe  of  his  class,  and  probably  to  the  last 
genius  the  mathematical  sciences  shall  possess;  the 
passion  for  which  diminishes,  because  of  the  excessive 
difficulties  that  are  to  be  surmounted,  and  the  infinitely 
few  means  of  acquiring  fame  by  discovery? 

I  have  the  hope  exceedingly  at  heart,  because  I  think 
it  a  noble  one,  and  because  I  tenderly  love  the  man.  I 
entreat  I  may  have  an  immediate  answer;  for  I  own  I 
have  induced  M.  de  la  Grange  to  suspend  his  declara- 
tions on  the  propositions  that  have  been  made  him, 
till  he  has  heard  what  ours  may  be.  I  need  not  repeat 
that — he  whose  hands  are  tied  must  call  for  help. 


LETTER    LII 

December  2d,   1786. 

ON  THE  29th,  between  one  and  two  o'clock,  a  person 
from  Courland  came  to  me  and  asked  for  the  Baron 
de  Nolde.  He  said  he  was  charged  with  some  secret 
commission,  and  delivered  him  a  letter  from  M.  Rum- 
mel,  his  brother-in-law,  a  Syndic  of  the  nobility,  and 
fifty  Prussian  gold  Fredericks.  The  letter  desired 
Nolde  would  give  faith  to  what  the  bearer  should  re- 
late, and  informed  him  that  the  regency  of  the  Repub- 
lic intended  to  confer  on  him  the  place  of  assessor,  if 
he  would  repair  to  Courland  that  he  might  be  put  in 
nomination ;  and  that  the  appointment  was  to  be  made 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  The  bearer  of  the  letter 
said  he  had  known  the  Baron  Nolde  when  a  boy.  The 
Baron  supposed  him  to  be  an  advocate,  or  a  notary, 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      255 

of  whom  he  had  some  confused  idea.  He  neither  told 
his. name,  where  he  lodged,  how  he  traveled,  when  he 
came  to  Berlin,  nor  where  he  was  going.  Hamburg, 
Liibeck,  Vienna,  Munich,  etc.,  are  places  through 
which  he  has  passed,  or  means  to  pass.  His  journey 
has  been  very  secret,  very  enigmatical,  very  mysteri- 
ous. He  only  gave  it  to  be  understood  that  great 
changes  would  soon  be  seen  in  Courland,  and  that 
Woronzow  was  there  to  enact  a  grand  part,  of  which 
he  spoke  so  as  to  make  it  suspected  he  might  become 
Duke.  Such  are  the  chief  points  of  this  odd  interview. 

We  must  combine  this  with  the  return  of  the  Duke, 
who  arrived  three  days  ago,  and  with  innumerable  in- 
dications which  demonstrate  that  a  revolution  is  either 
in  agitation  or  preparing  in  Courland.  Consternation 
has  seized  on  the  Duke.  It  is  only  whispered,  but  it 
appears  evident  that  the  States  have  stopped  the  pay- 
ment of  his  revenues,  because  he  does  not  expand  the 
money  in  the  country;  and  this  is  the  least  of  the 
griefs,  entertained  at  Petersburg,  against  this  detested 
man.  Certain  it  is  that  he  has  sent  his  wife,  who  is 
far  advanced  in  her  pregnancy,  to  Mittau,  whither  he 
dares  not  return  himself;  hoping  she  shall  be  delivered 
of  a  male  child,  and  that  this  presumptive  heir  will 
reconcile  him  to  his  country. 

Add,  further,  that  Baron  Nolde  is  of  one  of  the  first 
houses  of  Courland;  that  his  uncle,  the  Chamberlain 
Howen,  a  capable  and  enterprising  man,  is  at  present 
first  Minister  or  Land  Marshal;  that  all  affairs  pass 
through  his  hands,  and  that  he  is  in  the  greatest  credit ; 
which,  to  say  truth,  may  be  reduced  to  this :  that  he  has 
the  power  of  selling,  with  more  or  less  meanness,  this 
fine  but  unfortunate  province;  which,  however,  should 
it  be  abandoned  by  all  its  neighbors,  cannot  act  other- 
wise than  to  bestow,  rather  than  suffer  itself  to  be 
seized  upon.  It  is  very  possible  that  the  family  of 


256      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

Nolde,  which  knows  how  much  this  studious  young 
Baron  has  continually  preferred  a  civil  to  a  military 
life,  has  only  thought  of  placing  him  advantageously. 
(The  post  of  assessor,  which  is  worth  from  four  to 
five  thousand  livres  of  Conrland,  per  annum,  is  the 
post  of  preferment.)  But  it  is  equally  possible,  and, 
all  circumstances  considered,  very  probable,  that  his 
assistance  is  wished  for  in  effecting  a  revolution. 

This  young  Baron  is  possessed  of  honor,  informa- 
tion, and  understanding;  has  a  great  respect  for  the 
rights  of  mankind,  an  utter  hatred  for  the  Russians, 
and  an  ardent  desire  his  country  should  rather  apper- 
tain to  any  other  Power.  From  his  infancy  the  sport 
of  chance,  ruined  by  misfortunes  of  every  kind,  which 
all  had  a  worthy  origin;  disgusted  with  the  gloomy 
rank  of  subaltern  officer,  which  impedes  the  progress 
of  his  studies,  and  moderate  in  his  desires,  he  would 
accept  a  place  which  should  bestow  on  him  the  otium 
cittn  dignitate;  but  he  would  not  be  the  slave  of  Rus- 
sia. He  loves  France,  and  is  attached  to  me,  to  whom 
he  thinks  himself  obliged.  He  is  desirous  of  serving 
his  country,  the  Cabinet  of  Versailles,  and  his  friend. 
The  indecision  of  his  mind  must  have  been  afflicting, 
especially  under  circumstances  when,  laboring  for 
these  six  months  like  a  galley  slave,  and  certainly  in 
a  manner  more  useful  than  had  he  been  mounting 
guard,  you  have  even  neglected  to  prolong  his  fur- 
lough. This,  at  least,  was  perplexing.  I  have  de- 
cided for  him. 

Making  myself  responsible  for  this  prolongation, 
which  it  would  be  so  iniquitous  to  refuse,  and  which 
surely  will  be  granted  if  it  be  only  out  of  respect  to 
me,  who  find  his  coadjutorship  necessary;  imagining 
he  still  has  the  right  of  returning  into  Courland  by 
throwing  up  his  commission,  or  even  without  throw- 
ing it  up,  by  suffering  another  nomination  to  take 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      257 

place;  convinced  that  no  one  can  inform  us  more 
exactly  of  the  situation  of  the  country  in  which  he  has 
so  many  relations ;  persuaded  that  this  is  an  important 
step  for  several  reasons,  the  principal  of  which  I  shall 
presently  demonstrate,  and  not  believing  (independent 
of  the  expense  of  a  journey  of  more  than  four  hun- 
dred leagues)  that  I  should  be  justified  in  absenting 
myself  without  having  received  express  orders;  con- 
fiding in  the  honor  of  this  affectionate  young  gentle- 
man, as  well  because  of  the  recommendations  of  those 
to  whom  he  is  intimately  known,  as  from  having  my- 
self proved  his  principles  and  his  conduct;  and  still 
farther  convinced  that  confidence  is  the  most  power- 
ful of  motives  with  men  of  honor, — I  have  thought 
it  the  most  prudent  mode  to  suffer  him  immediately 
to  depart  on  his  promise  of  sending  me  information 
of  whatever  passes,  and  of  returning  to  Berlin  within 
two  months.  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  this  will  con- 
ciliate his  interest  and  ours, — the  latter  because  we 
shall  be  perfectly  informed  of  whatever  we  wish  to 
know  concerning  Courland,  of  which  many  things 
are  to  be  learned,  and  by  which  step,  at  all  events,  we 
shall  make  a  party  in  the  country,  where  the  simple 
title  of  consul,  or  the  permission  only  of  wearing  our 
uniform,  with  a  small  pension,  will  secure  to  us  a  man 
of  merit,  should  he  determine  to  accept  the  offers  of 
the  regency;  first,  because  Baron  Nolde  will  inform 
himself,  by  this  journey,  what  is  the  degree  of  stabil- 
ity and  profit  of  the  place  they  propose  for  him,  and 
because,  if  he  be  not  satisfied  with  this,  he  may  again 
return  to  the  service  of  France,  with  the  recommenda- 
tion of  additional  labors  and  strong  zeal  in  her  behalf; 
and,  should  he  be  satisfied  with  the  offers  of  Courland, 
he  may  accept  them,  while  we  may  better  his  situation 
and  augment  his  respect  and  safety,  by  suffering  him 
to  wear  our  uniform,  etc.,  etc. 


258      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Summarily,  this  young  gentleman,  who  has  served 
at  the  sieg'es  of  Port-Mahon  and  Gibraltar;  who  is 
esteemed  and  beloved  by  his  commanders ;  who  for  six 
months  has  labored,  under  my  direction,  with  uncom- 
mon zeal,  and  assiduity  not  less  uncommon;  I  repeat, 
this  gentleman  would  certainly  merit  such  a  mark  of 
favor,  though  it  had  been  on  his  own  business  solely 
that  he  had  made  a  journey  into  Courland.  But  the 
truth  is  I  send  him  thither  because  I  am  strongly  in- 
vited by  circumstances,  and  am  convinced  of  two 
things.  First,  that  were  it  only  perfectly  to  under- 
stand this  part  of  the  politics  of  Russia,  it  is  of  im- 
portance to  us  at  once  to  know  at  what  to  estimate 
the  worth  and  destiny,  as  well  as  the  changes  of  which 
this  country  is  susceptible;  which,  independent  of  all 
interior  circumstances,  stands  by  situation  the  sen- 
tinel of  Poland  and  of  the  Baltic,  now  that  Sweden, 
our  arm  of  the  north,  is  so  seriously  menaced.  My 
second  conviction  is  that  Baron  Nolde  is  the  most 
proper  of  men  faithfully  to  send  us  this  information. 
Wherefore  not  afford  him  aid?  Wherefore  not  pre- 
serve such  persons? 

You  must  have  seen,  but  perhaps  you  have  not  re- 
marked, in  the  thirty-second  abstract  from  the  gazettes, 
that  Springporten,  formerly  a  colonel  in  the  service  of 
Sweden,  has  lately  entered  into  the  service  of  Russia, 
with  the  rank  of  major  general;  that  he  is  the  man 
who  best  knows  Finland ;  that  the  Empress  has  granted 
him  three  thousand  roubles  for  his  equipment,  an 
estate  of  six  hundred  peasants,  in  White  Russia,  and 
the  key  of  chamberlain ;  that  he  is  incessantly  to  make 
a  journey  into  the  Crimea,  etc.,  etc.  Though  by  ac- 
quiring such  men,  with  the  knowledge  and  connections 
which  they  bring  with  them,  preparations  are  made 
for  the  execution  of  the  greatest  projects,  still,  by  the 
same  methods,  such  projects  are  rendered  abortive. 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      259 

There  was  not  time,  last  post,  to  write  the  post- 
script in  cipher,  which  contains  a  curious  fact,  of  which 
Panchand  will  probably  make  use  and  application. 

I  informed  you  in  No.  VI.  that  "  they  have  lately 
interdicted  discounting  bills  of  exchange  at  the  bank, 
etc."  This  fact  has  not  been  verified.  The  merchants 
indeed  required  it  might  be  done,  but  their  request  has 
not  been  granted,  and  it  was  opposed  by  Struensee. 
But  to  the  news  of  the  day. 

There  are  two  versions  concerning  Mademoiselle 
Voss.  Both  are  derived  from  excellent  sources,  and 
probably  the  real  one  will  be  that  which  may  be  com- 
posed from  the  two. 

1.  There  will  be  no  marriage.     Mademoiselle  will 
depart  in  a  month,  for  I  know  not  where;  and  after- 
ward will  return  to  Potsdam.     "  I  know,"  said  she, 
"  that  I  dishonor  myself.    All  the  compensation  I  ask 
is  not  to  see  any  person;  leave  me  in  profound  soli- 
tude; I  neither  wish  for  riches  nor  splendor."     It  is 
certain  that,  if  she  can  keep  him  thus,  she  will  lead 
him  much  the  farther. 

2.  Wednesday,  the  22d  of  last  month,  was  the  re- 
markable day  on  which  Mademoiselle  Voss  accepted 
the  King's  hand,  and  promised  him  her  own.     It  was 
determined  the  Queen  should  be  brought  to  approve 
the  plan  of  the  left-handed  marriage  as  a  thing  of 
necessity,  should  she  obstinately  display  too  much  re- 
pugnance.    It  is  singular  that,  for  the  consummation 
of  this  rare  business,  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of  Saxe- 
Weimar  was  waited  for,  who  is  the  brother-in-law  of 
the  Queen.    The  King  thus  will  be  father  to  four  sorts 
of  children.     The  priests,  who  have  been  consulted 
on  the  manner  of  reconciling  the  claims  of  heaven 
with  the  pleasures  of  earth,  have  decided  that  it  will 
be  better  to  concentrate  his  enjoyments  by  an  extraor- 
dinary marriage  than  incessantly  to  wander  from  er- 

9 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


260      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

ror  to  error.  Nothing  has  transpired  concerning  the 
manner  in  which  this  arrangement  is  to  be  made 
known  to  the  uncles;  of  the  name  the  new  Princess  is 
to  bear;  or  of  her  future  establishment,  etc.,  etc.  In 
all  probability  she  soon  will  interfere  in  public  affairs; 
and,  should  she  do  so,  the  credit  of  Bishopswerder  will 
diminish.  She  loves  neither  him  nor  his  daughters. 
Her  party  is,  besides,  very  opposite  to  that  of  the 
mystics,  which  gains  ground  in  a  very  fearful  manner. 
I  am  going  to  relate  a  recent  anecdote  on  that  subject 
which  happened  in  the  last  months  of  Frederick  II., 
and  which  it  is  infinitely  important,  at  least  for  my 
security  while  I  remain  here,  to  keep  secret;  of  the 
irrevocable  authenticity  of  which  you  yourself  will 
judge;  and  which  will  show  you  whither  tends  this 
imaginary  theory  of  the  mystics  connected  with  the 
Rosicrucian-Freemasons,  whom  among  us  some  look 
upon  with  pity,  and  others  treat  as  objects  of  amuse- 
ment. 

There  is  a  rumor  whispered  about  which  terrifies 
worthy  people,  and  which,  true  or  false,  is  a  faithful 
indication  of  the  public  opinion.  It  is  affirmed  that 
Prince  Henry,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  and  General 
Moellendorf,  mean  to  quit  the  army.  The  two  first 
probably  do  not  yet  think  of  such  a  step ;  but  the  latter 
is  indubitably  the  most  discontented  of  the  three. 
Rich,  loyal,  simple,  firm,  he  possesses  virtues  which 
would  do  honor  to  a  soil  on  which  virtue  is  more  fruit- 
ful. He  certainly  has  not  been  treated  either  as  he 
himself  expected,  or  as  good  citizens  have  wished. 
They  were  desirous,  indeed,  to  create  him  a  count; 
but  among  so  many  counts,  what  need  had  he  of  such 
a  title?  For  which  reason  this  respectable  man  re- 
plied, "WHAT  HAVE  i  DONE?"  This  artless,  noble 
question  was  too  severe — on  the  herd  of  nobles  and 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      261 

the  multitude  of  titles  that  have  sprung  up,  warmed 
by  the  breath  of  royal  munificence — to  be  agreeable. 
His  modest  and  antique  manners  are  become  reproach- 
ful to  the  Court;  yet  is  the  only  reform  truly  beneficial 
and  universally  approved,  under  the  new  reign,  the 
work  of  this  general.  I  mean  the  abolition  of  that 
iniquitous  contribution  called  GRASS  FORAGE,  which 
subjected  the  open  country  to  pillage,  during  three 
months  of  the  year,  under  the  pretense  of  accustoming 
the  cavalry  to  forage.  He  has  not  since  been  consulted 
on  any  subject,  or  he  has  had  no  influence.  I  should 
not  be  surprised  should  he  retire  to  his  country  seat; 
and  it  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  unamiable  light 
in  which  such  a  tacit  profession  of  faith  would  place 
the  King  and  his  Government. 

Three  months  more  of  similar  proceedings,  and  he 
will  have  no  respect  to  lose, — at  least,  in  his  own  coun- 
try. Every  corrupt  symptom  is  manifest.  Rietz,  a 
rascal,  avaricious,  chief  pimp,  and  an  avowed  Giton, 
insomuch  that  ipse  confitetnr,  sibi  ciitn  Rege,  dum  prin- 
ceps  Borussioe  esset,  apud  eius  amicam  stupri  commer- 
ciuin  fnisse.  In  a  word,  Rietz,  the  vilest  and  the  most 
debased  of  men,  manages  the  royal  household,  and 
enjoys  a  great  part  of  the  Court  favor.  Here  it  ought 
to  be  noted  that  he  is  very  susceptible  of  being  bought; 
but  he  must  be  dearly  bribed,  for  he  is  covetous  and 
prodigal,  and  his  fortune  is  to  make,  should  ever 
France  have  occasion  to  direct  the  Cabinet  of  Berlin. 
So  long  as  the  King  shall  have  any  power,  Rietz  and 
Prince  Frederick  of  Brunswick  are  the  two  men  most 
liable  to  temptation. 

The  following  is  an  anecdote  of  a  very  low  species, 
but  very  characteristic  for  those  who  know  the  coun- 
try. The  Italian  and  French  dancers  have  received 
orders  to  dance  twice  a  week,  at  the  German  theater. 
The  purport  of  such  a  capricious  injunction  was  to 


262      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

give  disgust  to  this  species  of  people,  who  are  expen- 
sive enough,  and  to  find  a  pretense  for  dismissing 
them.  They  have  been  well  advised,  and  will  dance; 
but  such  is  the  low  spirit  of  cunning  which  presides 
over  the  administration.  Politics  are  treated  as  wisely 
as  theatrical  matters. 

I  this  moment  learned  that  Heinitz,  one  of  the  Min- 
isters of  State,  a  man  of  mediocrity,  but  laborious,  has 
written  a  letter  to  the  King,  of  which  the  following  is 
nearly  the  sense :  "  Being  a  foreigner,  not  possessed 
of  any  lands  in  your  States,  my  zeal  cannot  be  sus- 
pected by  your  Majesty.  It  is  consequently  my  duty 
to  inform  you  that  the  projected  capitation  tax  will 
alienate  the  hearts  of  Your  Majesty's  subjects;  and 
proves  that  the  new  regulators  of  the  finances  are,  at 
present,  little  versed  in  public  business."  The  King 
said  to  him  two  days  after,  "  I  thank  you,"  and  made 
no  further  inquiries.  Irresolution  does  not  exclude 
obstinacy,  although  obstinacy  is  far  from  being  reso- 
lution. I  should  not  be  astonished  were  the  tobacco 
and  snuff  company  to  remain  on  its  former  footing. 
As  for  the  respect  which  government  should  preserve, 
that  must  take  care  of  itself. 

It  was  an  attempt  similar  to  that  of  Heinitz  which 
produced  the  last  military  promotion,  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  General  Moellendorf.  The  General  wrote, 
with  respectful  but  firm  dignity,  against  the  nomina- 
tion of  Count  Briihl,  and  entreated  the  King  would 
show  less  indifference  for  the  army.  Thanks  were 
returned,  accompanied  with  these  words :  "  The  place 
has  been  promised  a  year  and  a  half";  and  two  days 
after  seventeen  majors  were  created.  Since  this  time, 
coldness  toward  the  General  has  increased,  and  civil- 
ity has  been  substituted  for  confidence.  The  letter  is 
not  thought  well  of.  It  is  said  that  he  ought  to  have 
reserved  this  vigorous  blow  for  some  occasion  on 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      263 

which  he  should  not  appear  to  be  personally  inter- 
ested ;  and  it  is  he  himself  who  seemed  most  proper 
to  fill  the  place  of  governor. 

The  Duke  of  Weimar  is  preparing  to  make  a  vefy 
pompous  wolf  hunt,  on  the  frontiers  of  Poland.  The 
orders  and  adjustments  for  this  party  of  pleasure  do 
not  very  well  agree  with  the  projects  and  ceremonials 
of  economy.  Twelve  hundred  peasants  are  com- 
manded to  be  in  readiness ;  sixty  horses  have  been  sent, 
and  eight  baggage  wagons,  with  the  masters  of  the 
forests,  gentlemen,  huntsmen,  and  cooks  for  this  hunt, 
which  is  to  continue  six  days. 

At  present,  I  am  nearly  certain  that  my  second  ver- 
sion, relative  to  Mademoiselle  Voss,  is  the  true  one; 
and  that  the  Queen  is  coaxed  into  the  measure.  The 
King  never  lived  on  better  terms  with  her.  He  has 
often  visited  her  within  this  week,  pays  her  debts,  and 
has  given  her  a  concert.  Probably  she  has  made  a 
virtue  of  necessity.  It  appears  evident  that  this  con- 
nection of  the  King  highly  deranges  the  plan  of  the 
mystic  administrators.  The  family  of  Mademoiselle 
Voss  wishes  to  profit  by  her  elevation;  and  their  ad- 
vice no  way  agrees  with  that  of  the  present  favorites. 
Bishopswerder,  far  from  gaining  upon  the  King,  de- 
clines in  his  esteem.  In  a  word,  revolution  may  come 
from  that  side.  Will  public  affairs  be  the  gainer? 
This  question  it  is  impossible  to  answer.  We  can  only 
turn  the  telescope  toward  the  spot;  or  rather  the 
microscope;  for,  in  truth,  we  are  in  the  reign  and  the 
country  of  the  infinitely  minute. 

[Postscript,  mentioned  in  the  body  of  the  letter.] 

The  current  coins  in  Poland  were  formerly  as  fol- 
lows: The  mark  of  fine  silver  of  the  Cologne  weight 
was  coined  at  13-3  r.  or  80  fl.  of  Poland. 


264      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

As  to  gold  coins,  there  were  none  but  Dutch  ducats 
that  had  any  nominal  value;  that  is  to  say 


At  the  royal  treasuries,  they  were  taken  for 

By  the  public,  for  18  k.  ;  both  of  which  rates  were 
fixed  by  decrees  of  the  Diet. 

In  the  Diet  of  1786,  the  ducats  were  universally 
raised  to  18  k.  each. 

The  assay  of  the  silver  consequently  cannot  any 
longer  be  maintained;  and  it  is  affirmed  there  is  a 
determination,  hereafter,  to  coin  the  fine  mark  at  14 
r.  or  84  fl. 

But  neither  can  this  coinage  support  itself;  for, 
should  Berlin  coin  at  14  r.,  Poland  will  be  obliged  to 
keep  up  an  equal  value  at  a  greater  expense,  because 
of  carriage. 

Under  the  present  circumstances,  it  might  be  advan- 
tageous to  draw  on  Poland  for  ducats  at  3  r.  if  the 
assay  of  silver  is  at  14  r. 

But,  if  the  relative  value  of  gold  should  fall,  com- 
paratively to  that  of  silver,  silver  may  be  there  bought 
with  profit. 

Generally  speaking,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  recent 
operations  on  gold  should  lead  us  to  reflect  on  the 
state  of  the  silver,  especially  in  Spain,  should  that 
power  persist  in  the  folly  which,  with  the  greatest 
part  of  Europe,  it  has  given  into,  of  keeping  two 
species  of  coin,  and  hoarding  the  gold. 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT.  —  The  King,  attended  by  a  sin- 
gle lackey  and  much  disguised,  has  been  to  the  corn 
and  straw  warehouses,  where  he  inquired  of  the  sol- 
diers who  worked  there  what  their  wages  were.  "Five 
groschen."  A  moment  after  he  put  the  same  question 
to  the  superintendents.  "  Six  groschen."  Three  sol- 
diers being  called  to  confront  the  superintendents,  and 
the  fraud  being  proved,  a  subaltern  and  three  soldiers 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      265 

were  ordered  to  conduct  the  two  superintendents  to 
Spandau,  a  civil  prison ;  and  there  they  are  to  be  tried. 
The  fact  is  very  praiseworthy.  He  makes  evening 
peregrinations  almost  unattended,  and  addicts  himself 
to  the  minute  inquiries  of  a  justice  of  the  peace.  At 
least  this  is  the  third  time  he  has  acted  thus.  Some  of 
his  attendants  imagine  he  means  to  imitate  the  Em- 
peror. After  what  has  passed  between  them,  this 
perhaps  would  be  the  most  severe  symptom  of  absolute 
incapacity. 


LETTER   LIII 

December  5th,  1786. 

THE  news  of  the  cabals,  which  the  Emperor  again 
wishes  to  excite  at  Deux-Ponts,  and  which  our 
Cabinet  has  published  here,  seem  to  have  produced  a 
very  good  effect  upon  the  King,  in  despite  of  those 
who  exclaim,  Ne  crede  Teucris — an  adage  which  is 
become  the  signal  of  rallying  among  the  English, 
Dutch,  anti-French,  etc.,  etc.  May  we  conduct  our- 
selves so  as  never  to  admit  of  any  other  reproach. 
This  discovery  will  probably,  both  at  Berlin  and  Deux- 
Ponts,  counteract  the  Emperor.  It  was  very  ill-judged 
of  him  not  to  suffer  that  torpor  to  increase,  which  is 
the  infallible  consequence  of  the  languor  of  labor,  or 
of  the  confusion  which  doing  nothing  produces. 

But  I  resign  these  foreign  politics  to  your  ambassa- 
dors, to  whom  they  are  known,  because  I  gained  this 
intelligence  by  that  means  only  by  which  I  gain  all 
other;  because  Comte  d'Esterno  did  not  say  a  word 
on  the  subject  to  me ;  because  it  would  have  been  weak 
and  little  decent  to  have  put  many  questions  on  a 
matter  which  I  ought  to  have  known;  and  because  I, 


266      MEMOIRS   OF   THE   COURTS   OF 

therefore,  satisfied  myself  with  vague  annotations  on 
our  fidelity.  I  am  not,  and  probably  shall  not  be,  cir- 
cumstantially informed  of  the  affair.  You,  perhaps, 
may  feel  on  this  occasion  how  important  it  is  that  bet- 
ter intelligence  should  be  sent  me  from  Versailles; 
but  you  will  doubtless  acknowledge  I  perform  all  I 
can,  all  I  ought,  when  I  trace  the  outlines  of  internal 
— since  I  have  not  the  key  to  external — politics; 
though  assuredly  I  shall  not  neglect  the  latter  when- 
ever lucky  chance  shall  afford  opportunities. 

The  libellist  Crantz,  who  was  expelled  the  country 
by  Frederick  II.  for  theft,  and  for  having  sold  the 
same  horse  three  times,  is  recalled,  with  a  pension  of 
eight  hundred  crowns.  The  King  wrote  to  Count 
Hertzberg  to  give  him  some  post.  The  Minister  re- 
plied that  the  abilities  of  the  gentleman  were  great, 
and  that  he  was  very  estimable,  but  that  he  had  too 
little  discretion  to  be  employed  in  foreign  affairs.  The 
King  proposed  him  to  the  Minister  Werder,  who 
answered,  the  gentleman  was  exceedingly  intelligent, 
exceedingly  capable,  but  that  there  was  money  in  his 
office,  which,  therefore,  M.  Crantz  must  not  be  suf- 
fered to  enter.  At  last,  the  King  has  thrown  the  illus- 
trious Crantz,  praised  by  all  and  by  all  rejected,  upon 
the  States ;  and  he  receives  a  pension  of  eight  hundred 
crowns  for  doing  nothing. 

The  Minister  Schulemburg,  after  having  twice  de- 
manded his  dismissal,  has  finally  obtained  it,  without  a 
pension.  This  is  severe ;  but  the  ex-Minister  is  adroit. 
He  has  cast  all  the  burden  upon  the  first  branch  of  his 
department,  which  has  been  retrenched.  If  there  are 
any  means  of  being  restored,  this  was  well  done.  You 
are  acquainted  with  the  qualities  of  this  man.  He 
had  understanding,  facility,  and  sagacity  in  the  choice 
of  his  coadjutors;  was  indifferent  concerning  the 
means  he  employed;  vain  in  prosperity;  despairing  in 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      267 

misfortune,  of  which  his  feelings  are  the  sport;  ready 
to  serve  others ;  susceptible  of  affection,  and  believing 
in  friendship  after  having  been  fifteen  years  Minister 
of  Frederick  II.  He  thought  himself  immovable  be- 
cause he  was  necessary,  and  hopes  that  this  necessity 
will  surmount  the  cabals  by  which  he  has  been  driven 
from  his  post.  Perhaps  he  deceives  himself;  for, 
while  we  are  not  difficult  in  our  choice,  and  when  the 
business  is  not  of  itself  beyond  vulgar  capacities, 
agents  may  at  any  time  be  found.  If  monarchs  wish 
for  a  Newton,  they  certainly  must  employ  a  Newton, 
or  the  place  must  remain  vacant.  But  who  is  there 
who  does  not  think  himself  capable  of  being  a  minis- 
ter, and  of  whom  may  it  be  demonstrated  he  is  not 
capable  ? 

I  am  assured,  from  a  good  quarter,  that  Count 
Hertzberg  regains  confidence.  He  has  bowed  to  the 
new  agents,  who  have  had  the  weakness  to  bring  him 
again  into  favor  because  Mademoiselle  Voss  is  the 
niece  of  Count  Finckenstein,  and  because,  her  family 
being  unable  to  obtain  any  advantage  by  her  promo- 
tion except  by  the  overthrow  of  those  who  surround 
the  King,  who  are  not  ignorant  that  the  lady  detests 
them,  it  is  requisite  some  one  should  be  opposed  to  her. 
But,  if  she  be  a  dame  of  mettle,  change  must  be  looked 
for  on  that  side,  which  more  or  less  address  will  hasten 
or  retard.  Whether  or  no,  Hertzberg  has  advised 
Count  Goertz  to  take  part  with  Renneval,  of  whose 
prudence  he  has  spoken  in  the  highest  terms  to  the 
King. 

A  new  blunder  has  been  committed  in  the  military. 
All  the  first  lieutenants  have  been  made  captains;  and 
the  captains,  whether  on  whole  or  half  pay,  of  the 
regiment  of  guards,  are  advanced  to  the  rank  of  ma- 
jor. Except  the  war  chancery,  I  do  not  see  who  will 
be  the  gainer  by  this  arrangement.  It  is  said  the  King 


268      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

intends  to  pay  his  personal  debts,  the  payment  of 
which,  by  the  way  of  parenthesis,  is  more  than  ever 
eluded,  with  the  produce  of  the  commissions  of  offi- 
cers, and  the  diplomas  of  counts,  barons,  chamber- 
lains, etc. 

The  plan  for  the  capitation  tax  was  represented  to 
the  King  as  a  kind  of  voluntary  act,  and  which  the 
people  themselves  would  meet  half  way;  but  informed 
lof  the  public  disgust  this  project  had  occasioned, 
alarmed  by  the  rumor,  and  heated  by  the  letter  of 
Heinitz,  he  told  Werder,  "  People  ought  not  to  meddle 
with  matters  they  do  not  understand."  (Take  good 
note  that  this  be  said  to  his  Minister  of  Finance). 
"  Launay  should  have  been  consulted  "  (now  under 
the  fetters  of  the  commission  of  inquiry).  Werder 
excused  himself  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  by  say- 
ing the  plan  did  not  originate  with  him  (in  fact,  the 
project  was  Beyer's),  as  if  he  had  not  appropriated 
by  approving  it. 

The  general  directory,  that  species  of  Council  of 
State  at  which  the  King  is  never  present,  has  projected 
remonstrances  concerning  the  humiliating  inactivity 
in  which  it  is  held;  but  Welner  opposed  them,  giving 
the  invincible  repugnance  of  his  Majesty  for  every 
species  of  advice  to  be  understood.  This  arises  from 
the  strange  supposition  that  those  who  give  him  advice 
have  adopted  the  sentiments  of  his  uncle,  relative  to 
his  capacity.  He  is  yet  to  learn  that  no  one  ventures 
to  advise  among  the  great,  except  such  persons  as 
they  esteem. 

In  the  meantime  the  mystics  continue  in  the  same 
degree  of  favor.  Their  conspiracy  was  denounced 
by  the  great  person  whom  I  spoke  of  to  you  in  my 
last,  to  General  Moellendorf,  the  intimate  friend  of 
the  brother  of  Mademoiselle  Voss  (a  man  esteemed 
for  his  moral  character;  in  other  respects  obscure,  at 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      269 

least  hitherto,  yet  who  probably  will  soon  appear  upon 
the  stage),  in  order  that  he  might  terrify  his  sister, 
and  by  her  intervention  the  Sovereign,  concerning  the 
crimes  of  a  sect  who  would  sacrifice  all  whom  they 
cannot  rule.  Biester — the  same,  to  say  the  least,  to 
whom  it  has  been  insinuated  that  he  should  spare  the 
mystics — has  a  lawsuit  in  which  they  are  interested, 
which  it  is  said  he  will  lose.  He  has  accused  M.  Starck 
of  being  a  Catholic.  Starck  is  a  Professor  of  Jena, 
a  man  celebrated  for  the  gift  of  persuasion,  as  well 
as  for  his  understanding  and  knowledge,  a  Lutheran 
born,  and  a  Lutheran  minister,  but  a  known  professor 
of  the  Catholic  religion.  He  has,  notwithstanding, 
instituted  a  criminal  action  against  Biester,  for  having 
said  this,  and  has  summoned  him  to  prove  his  calum- 
nious assertion.  Never  would  such  a  suit  have  been 
heard  of  under  Frederick  II.  Starck  has  recently 
published  a  book  entitled  "  Nicaise,"  in  which  he  at- 
tacks Freemasonry.  The  Freemasons  have  replied  by 
another,  entitled  "  Anti-Nicaise,"  in  which  are  in- 
serted authentic  letters  from  several  princes,  and, 
amonsr  others,  from  Prince  Charles  of  Hesse  Cassel, 

o  *  ' 

and  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick;  which  well  prove, 
what  all  know  who  have  conversed  with  him,  should 
they  not  likewise  know  his  creatures,  Bauer  and  Wet- 
sail,  that  a  great  general,  or  rather  a  FAMOUS  general, 
may  be  a  very  little  man. 

The  statement  of  the  expense  is  at  length  made  out, 
and  the  result  is  that  the  King  may  increase  his  treas- 
ury by  two  millions  of  crowns,  and  still  reserve  a  con- 
siderable sum  for  his  pleasures  or  his  affections.  But, 
in  this  calculation,  it  is  supposed  that  following  re- 
ceipts will  equal  the  preceding,  which  certainly  is 
doubtful.  One  paternal  act  has  been  performed;  the 
country  people  have  been  freed  from  the  obligation  of 
lodging  the  cavalry  gratis,  and  supplying  forage  at 


270      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

a  very  low  price.  This  reform  will  cost  the  King  two 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand  crowns  per  annum. 
But  it  was  extremely  necessary.  It  is  the  result  of 
the  plan  of  Moellendorf  for  the  abolition  of  the  GREEN 
FORAGE. 

One  M.  Moulines  is  the  editor  of  the  manuscripts  of 
the  late  King.  I  have  before  given  you  his  political 
character;  and,  as  a  literary  man,  he  is  destitute  of 
taste  and  discernment,  and  without  any  profound 
knowledge  of  the  language.  But  he  is  the  friend  of 
Welner;  of  that  Welner  to  whom  the  King,  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  sends  the  letters  and  requests 
of  the  day  before,  and  who  at  four  o'clock  goes  to  give 
his  account,  or  rather  to  instruct  the  King.  As  for 
the  Ministers,  they  receive  orders,  and  do  not  give 
advice.  Welner  has  had  the  wit  to  refuse  the  title  of 
Minister,  and  to  satisfy. himself  with  that  of  superin- 
tendent of  the  buildings ;  but  he  is  already  fawned  upon 
by  the  whole  Court.  These  manuscripts  are  to  be 
printed  in  eighteen  volumes  octavo.  The  two  parts 
most  curious  are  the  "History  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War,"  and  the  "Memoirs  of  My  Own  Times."  In 
the  former,  Frederick  has  rather  recounted  what  he 
ought  to  have  done  than  what  he  did;  and  this  is  itself 
a  trait  of  genius.  He  praises  or  excuses  almost  every- 
body; and  blames  only  himself. 

The  Marquis  of  Lucchesini,  who  had  been,  not  the 
friend,  not  the  favorite  of  Frederick,  but  his  LISTENER, 
is,  though  he  does  not  own  it,  highly  piqued  at  the 
choice  made  of  Moulines.  He  has  demanded  leave  of 
absence  for  six  months,  to  make  a  journey  into  his 
own  country,  from  which,  no  doubt,  he  will  no  more 
return.  How  did  it  happen  that  he  did  not  feel  that 
the  personal  respect  in  which  he  would  have  been  held 
would  have  been  immense  had  he  quitted  Prussia  a 
week  after  the  death  of  the  King,  with  this  only  reply 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      271 

to  all  the  offers  which  would  have  been  made  him? — 
"I  was  ambitious  only  of  a  place  which  all  the  Kings  on 
earth  could  not  take  from  me,  cannot  restore;  that  of 
being  the  friend  of  Frederick  II." 

Two  successors  have  been  appointed  to  Count  Schu- 
lemburg;  for,  as  the  King  of  France  has  four  Minis- 
ters, twenty  are  necessary  to  the  King  of  Prussia. 
One  of  these  successors  is  M.  Moschwitz,  a  magistrate; 
of  whom  neither  good  nor  harm  is  spoken.  The  other 
is  a  Count  Schulemburg  von  Blumbert,  the  son-in-law 
of  Count  Finckenstein.  The  latter  possesses  knowl- 
edge, an  ardent  and  gloomy  ambition,  and  a  moral 
character  that  is  suspected.  He  is  studious,  intelligent, 
assiduous,  and  is  certainly  a  capable  man.  But  he  is 
supposed  to  want  order;  to  possess  rather  a  heated 
brain  than  an  active  mind ;  and  to  have  more  opinions 
of  his  own  than  dexterity  to  blend  them  with  the 
opinions  of  others  and  render  them  successful. 
Neither  is  he  at  all  accustomed  to  business;  and  is  an 
absolute  stranger  to  banking  and  commercial  specula- 
tions, that  is  to  say,  to  the  principal  branches  of  his 
department. 

FIRST  POSTSCRIPT. — The  King,  who  is  paying  off 
the  debts  of  his  father,  has  granted  twenty  thousand 
crowns  for  the  maintenance  and  privy  purse  of  his  two 
eldest  sons.  Their  household  is  a  separate  expense. 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT. — I  did  not  believe  I  was  so 
good  a  prophet.  The  brother  of  Mademoiselle  Voss 
has  the  place  of  the  President  Moschwitz.  This  is 
the  foot  in  the  stirrup. 

The  course  of  exchange  on  Amsterdam  is  so  exceed- 
ingly high  that,  there  being  no  operation  of  finance  or 
of  commerce  by  which  it  may  be  accounted  for,  I  have 
no  doubt  but  remittances  are  made  to  pay  off  the 


272      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

personal  debts  of  the  King.  Struensee  is  of  the  same 
opinion;  but  he  has  no  positive  intelligence  on  the  sub- 
ject. 


LETTER  LIV 

December  Sth,  1786. 

You  may  take  it  for  granted  that  there  are  three  prin- 
cipal shades  in  the  character  of  the  King — deceit, 
which  he  believes  to  be  art;  irascible  vanity,  whenever 
the  least  remonstrance  is  made  to  him ;  and  the  accumu- 
lation of  money,  which  is  not  so  much  avarice  in  him 
as  the  passion  of  possessing.  The  first  of  these  vices 
has  rendered  him  suspicious;  for  he  who  deceives  by 
system  continually  imagines  he  is  deceived.  The 
second  induces  him  to  prefer  people  of  middling,  or  in- 
ferior abilities ;  and  the  latter  contributes  to  make  him 
lead  an  obscure  and  solitary  life,  by  which  the  two 
former  are  strengthened.  Violent  in  private,  impene- 
trable in  public,  little  animated  by  the  love  of  fame  in 
reality,  and  making  this  love  to  consist  chiefly  in  lead- 
ing the  world  to  suppose  he  is  not  governed;  rarely 
troubling  himself  with  foreign  politics;  a  soldier  from 
necessity,  and  not  from  inclination;  disposed  to  favor 
the  mystics,  not  from  conviction,  but  because  he  be- 
lieves he  shall,  by  their  aid,  examine  the  consciences 
and  penetrate  the  hearts  of  men — such  is  the  outline 
of  the  man. 

His  debts  will  be  paid  by  the  surplus  money.  Under 
the  late  King  there  was  annually  a  considerable  sum 
which  was  not  brought  to  the  Treasury,  but  was  kept 
apart  to  raise  new  regiments,  to  increase  the  artillery, 
or  to  repair  the  fortresses.  Now,  as  the  artillery  was 
not  increased,  as  new  regiments  were  not  raised,  and 
as  the  fortresses  were  not  repaired,  the  money  con- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      273 

sequently  accumulated.  It  is  now  employed  in  liquida- 
tion. 

The  revenues  are  upward  of  twenty-seven  millions 
of  crowns,  including  the  customs;  or  about  a  hundred 
and  eight  millions  of  French  livres.  The  expense  of 
the  army  is  twelve  millions  and  a  half  of  crowns; 
of  the  civil  administration,  two  millions  three  hundred 
thousand  crowns ;  of  the  King's,  the  Queen's,  and  the 
Princes'  household,  one  million  two  hundred  thousand 
crowns;  and  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  for  the 
payment  of  pensions.  I  am  not  acquainted  with  all  the 
inferior  expenses;  but  when,  for  example,  we  know 
that  the  legation  chest  does  not  absorb  more  than 
seventy-five  thousand  crowns,  and  that  the  supple- 
ments amount  on  an  average  to  twenty-five  thousand 
crowns  (on  which  I  have  to  remark  that  the  same  ob- 
ject in  Denmark  costs  three  millions  of  crowns;  and 
in  Russia,  a  country  almost  unknown  to  the  greatest 
part  of  Europe,  three  hundred  thousand  rubles),  it  is 
easy  to  understand  that  the  sum  total  of  the  annual 
surplus,  the  expense  being  deducted  from  the  receipt, 
is  about  three  millions  and  a  half  of  crowns. 

The  manufacturers  have  presented  a  petition,  in 
which  they  supplicate  to  be  informed  whether  any 
alterations  are  intended  to  be  made  in  the  privileges 
granted  them  by  the  late  King,  or  his  predecessors, 
that  they  may  not  be  exposed  to  the  buying  of  ma- 
terials, or  contracting  agreements  which  they  shall  be 
unable  to  fulfill.  Frederick  William  has  given  his 
word  of  honor  not  to  make  any  change,  at  present,  of 
this  kind. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  King  intended  to  have 
made  Welner  a  Minister,  which  dignity  it  is  affirmed 
he  refused.  This  for  many  reasons  was  a  master 
stroke,  by  which  he  will  be  no  loser;  for  he  has  lately 
been  granted  an  augmentation  of  three  thousand 


274      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

crowns,  that  he  may  enjoy  the  same  pension  as  the 
Ministers  of  State.  The  King  not  only  places  no 
confidence  in  the  latter,  but  he  affects  never  to  mention 
them,  unless  it  be  to  Count  Finckenstein,  the  uncle  of 
the  well-beloved ;  or  to  Count  Arnim,  who  interferes  in 
the  negotiations  of  the  so  much  desired  marriage,  and 
who  is  at  present  too  much  a  stranger  to  business  to 
be  suspected  of  any  system.  The  supposition  that  he 
has  one  will,  at  least  for  some  time,  be  the  rock  on 
which  the  new  Schulemburg  is  liable  to  be  wrecked. 
He  is  supported  by  strength  of  character  and  ardor  of 
ambition.  As  to  the  new  President,  to  whom  already 
is  attributed  a  depth  of  design  which  probably  he 
never  possessed,  I  believe  him  little  capable  of  enact- 
ing any  great  part. 

The  Sieur  du  Bosc,  who  is  become  a  counselor  of 
finance  and  of  commerce,  is  also  desirous  of  making 
his  entrance.  He  has  petitioned  to  be  employed  in 
the  customs,  and  his  request  has  been  granted,  but 
without  an  increase  of  respect.  Speculators,  joining 
this  symptom  to  some  others,  have  drawn  a  conclusion 
that  this  is  some  diminution  in  the  credit  of  Bishops- 
werder,  his  protector.  The  party  of  the  mystics,  how- 
ever, does  but  augment  and  flourish.  To  own  the 
truth,  the  crowd  of  candidates  may  injure  individuals. 
One  of  the  most  zealous  members,  Drenthal,  is  lately 
arrived.  No  office  was  found  for  him  under  the  King ; 
but  he  has  in  his  interim  been  placed  with  the  Princess 
Amelia,  in  quality  of  Marshal  of  the  Court,  with  a 
promise  of  not  being  forgotten  at  the  death  of  this 
Princess,  whose  end  approaches. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  new  Sovereign  may  be  in- 
creased by  a  sketch  of  the  most  distinguished  people 
at  his  Court.  Among  these  are  an  old  count  (Len- 
dorf),  gentle  as  Philinta,  obliging  as  Bonneau,  a 
shameless  flatterer,  an  unfaithful  talebearer,  and, 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       275 

when  need  is,  a  calumniator.  A  prince  in  his  pupilage 
(Holsteinbeck),  smoking  his  pipe,  drinking  brandy, 
never  knowing  what  he  says,  ever  talking  on  what  he 
does  not  understand,  ready  at  any  time  to  fly  to  the 
parade,  to  hunt,  to  go  to  church,  to  go  to  brothels,  or 
to  go  to  supper  with  a  lieutenant,  a  lackey,  or  Madame 
Rietz.  Another  prince  (Frederick  of  Brunswick), 
famous  for  the  pains  he  took  to  dishonor  his  sister, 
and  particularly  his  brother-in-law,  the  present  King; 
a  libertine  under  the  Monarch  who  was  called  an 
atheist;  at  present  a  mystic,  when  the  Monarch  is 
supposed  a  devotee;  a  pensioner  of  the  Freemason 
lodges,  from  which  he  annually  receives  six  thousand 
crowns;  talking  nonsense  from  system;  and,  for  the 
secrets  which  he  wrests,  returning  a  multitude  of  half 
secrets,  which  are  partly  invented,  and  partly  useless. 
A  kind  of  mad  captain  (Grothaus),  who  has  seen  all, 
had  all,  done  all,  known  all ;  the  intimate  friend  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales ;  the  favorite  of  the  King  of  England, 
invited  by  Congress  to  be  their  president,  on  condition 
of  conquering  Canada ;  master  at  pleasure  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope;  the  only  man  capable  of  settling  the 
affairs  of  Holland;  an  author,  a  dancer,  a  runner,  a 
jumper,  a  farmer,  botanist,  physician,  chemist,  and 
lieutenant  colonel  in  the  Prussian  service,  with  an  in- 
come of  seven  hundred  crowns  per  annum.  A  minis- 
ter (Count  Arnim),  who  dreams  instead  of  thinking, 
smiles  instead  of  replying,  reasons  instead  of  deter- 
mining, regrets  at  night  the  liberty  he  sacrificed  in  the 
morning,  and  wishes  at  once  to  remain  indolent  on  his 
estate,  and  to  acquire  the  reputation  of  a  minister.  A 
reigning  prince  (the  Duke  of  Weimar),  who  imagines 
he  has  wit  because  he  can  interpret  a  rebus ;  is  cunning, 
because  he  pretends  to  swallow  his  own  sarcasms;  a 
philosopher,  because  he  has  three  poets  at  his  Court; 
and  a  species  of  hero,  because  he  rides  full  speed  in 


276      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

search  of  wolves  and  boars.  Such  being  his  favorites, 
judge  of  the  man. 

Do  you  wish  to  estimate  his  taste  by  his  diversions? 
Tuesday  was  the  great  day  on  which  he  went  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  of  the  imagination  at  the  German  theater. 
Here,  in  grand  pomp,  he  was  accosted  by  a  dramatic 
compliment,  which  concluded  with  these  words :  "May 
that  kind  Providence  that  rewards  all,  all  great  and 
good  actions,  bless  and  preserve  our  most  gracious 
King,  that  august  father  of  his  people;  bless  and  pre- 
serve all  the  royal  house,  and  bless  and  preserve  us  all  I 
AMEN  !"  The  King  was  so  highly  enchanted  with 
this  dramatic  homily  that  he  has  added  another  thou- 
sand crowns  to  the  five  thousand  which  he  had  granted 
the  manager,  and  has  made  him  a  present  of  four 
chandeliers,  and  twelve  glasses  to  decorate  the  boxes. 
Sarcasms  innumerable,  on  the  French  theater,  accom- 
panied this  act  of  generosity. 

Would  you  judge  him  by  military  favors?  A  pen- 
sion of  three  hundred  crowns  has  been  granted  to, 
Captain  Colas,  who  had  been  eight-and-twenty  years 
imprisoned  in  the  citadel  of  Magdeburg;  and  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  general  bestowed  on  Borck,  his  Majesty's 
Governor,  who  is  eighty-two  years  of  age. 

Or  by  his  Court  favors?  The  chamberlain's  key 
sent  to  that  extravagant  Baron  Bagge;  who  indeed 
presented  a  hundred  louis  to  Rietz,  and  forty  to  the 
person  who  brought  him  this  gift  of  royal  munificence. 

It  has  been  insinuated  to  his  Majesty  that  he  had 
displeased  the  citizens,  on  his  return  from  Prussia;  the 
army,  from  the  first  day  of  his  reign;  the  general 
directory,  by  rendering  it  null;  his  family,  by  being 
polite  instead  of  friendly;  the  priests,  by  his  project 
of  a  third  marriage ;  the  pensioners,  by  the  suppression 
of  the  tobacco  monopoly;  the  Court,  by  the  confusion 
or  the  delay  in  the  statement  of  the  accounts;  and  that, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      277 

therefore,  it  might  perhaps  be  imprudent,  for  the 
present,  in  the  moment  of  effervescence,  to  accept  the 
statue  that  has  been  proposed  by  the  city  of  Konigs- 
berg. 

And  are  you  desirous  of  an  index  to  the  respect  in 
which  he  may  be  held  by  foreign  nations?  The  Poles 
have  refused  a  passage  to  the  horses,  for  remounting 
the  cavalry,  coming  from  the  Ukraine.  I  need  not 
tell  you  such  a  refusal  would  never  have  been  made  to 
Frederick  II. 

Count  Hertzberg  pretends  he  has  received  letters 
written  against  himself,  to  persons  in  France,  by 
Prince  Henry.  He  showed  them  to  the  King,  who 
made  him  no  reply.  I  scarcely  can  believe  there  is  not 
some  fraud  in  this  affair.  I  know  the  persons  to  whom 
the  Prince  writes  in  France;  and,  treachery  out  of  the 
question,  they  certainly  are  not  interested  in  favor  of 
Count  Hertzberg.  But  whether  or  no,  there  are 
rumors  that  Hertzberg  and  Blumenthal  are  soon  to 
resign;  that  the  latter  will  be  replaced  by  M.  Voss; 
and  the  first,  who  has  imagined  himself  too  necessary 
to  be  taken  at  his  word,  "by  a  man  who  will  astonish 
the  whole  world."  (This,  it  is  affirmed,  is  the  phrase 
of  the  King  himself.)  Hertzberg  has  the  knowledge 
of  a  civilian,  and  is  well  read  in  archives,  because  his 
memory  is  prodigious.  He  also  knows  something  of 
practical  agriculture.  But,  on  the  reverse,  he  is  violent, 
passionate,  abundantly  vain,  and  explains  himself  as 
he  conceives,  that  is  to  say,  with  difficulty  and  confu- 
sion; is  desirous  but  incapable  of  doing  that  good  by 
which  reputation  is  acquired;  rather  vindictive  than 
malignant;  subject  to  prejudices;  disposed  to  injure 
those  against  whom  he  is  prejudiced;  and  devoid  of 
dignity,  address,  and  resource. 

Blumenthal  is  a  faithful  accountant,  an  ignorant 
Minister;  ambitious,  when  he  recollects  ambition,  and 


278      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

to  please  his  family;  and  full  of  respect  for  the  Treas- 
ury, which  he  places  far  above  the  State;  and  of  in- 
difference for  the  King,  whom  he  more  than  neglected 
while  he  was  Prince  of  Prussia. 

The  duty  has  been  taken  off  beer,  which  yielded 
five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  crowns  per  annum, 
and  a  substitute,  it  is  said,  will  be  found  by  an  addi- 
ional  tax  on  wines;  but  wines  are  already  too  much 
taxed,  and  cannot  bear  any  such  increase.  The  ex- 
penses of  this  part  of  the  customs  amount  to  twenty 
thousand  crowns;  sixty-nine  persons  employed  have 
been  dismissed;  but  their  salaries  are  continued  till 
they  shall  be  replaced. 

FIRST  POSTSCRIPT. — Count  Totleben  (a  Saxon),  who 
has  been  appointed  major  in  the  regiment  of  Elben, 
was  preceded  by  a  letter  the  import  of  which  was  that 
he  was  sent  to  the  regiment  TO  LEARN  THE  SERVICE. 
The  equivoque  of  the  expression  is  stronger  in  the 
German.  The  regiment  wrote  in  a  body  to  the  King : 
"If  Count  Totleben  be  sent  to  instruct  us,  we  have  not 
merited,  nor  will  we  endure,  such  humiliation.  If  he 
come  for  instruction,  he  cannot  serve  as  major." 
Some  pretend  that  the  dispute  is  already  settled,  and 
others  that  it  will  have  consequences. 

The  King  about  a  month  since  was  reminded  of 
Captain  Forcade,  who  was  formerly  a  favorite  of  the 
Prince  of  Prussia.  His  Majesty  replied:  "Let  him 
write  what  his  wishes  are."  Forcade  requested  the 
happiness  of  being  one  of  his  attendants.  The  King 
answered:  "I  have  no  need  of  useless  officers;  they 
only  serve  to  make  a  dust." 

SECOND  POSTSCRIPT. — By  the  last  courier  I  sent  you 
some  calculations  on  the  coins  of  Poland.  Here  follow 
others  more  absurd,  relative  to  those  of  Denmark. 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      279 

Denmark  has  adopted,  according  to  law,  the  nominal 
value  of  its  currency  at  nl/z  crowns  for  the  fine  mark 
of  Cologne;  yet  it  has  for  several  years  paid  from 
thirteen  to  fourteen  crowns  the  fine  mark.  Hence 
there  are  no  silver  coins  in  Denmark,  and  business  is 
all  transacted  in  bank  bills,  the  value  of  which  is  never 
to  be  realized. 

When  the  evil  began  to  be  evident,  Schimmelmann 
wished  it  might  be  remedied.  He  coined  crowns  in 
specie  9^4  of  which  contained  the  fine  mark,  and  calcu- 
lated that  the  crown  in  specie  was  equal  to  one  crown 
9jfJ5  sols  currency  lubs.  The  fact  would  have  been 
true,  if  the  silver  currency  had  existed  at  nl/3  per 
mark ;  but  as  none  such  were  to  be  found,  each  person 
willingly  accepted  the  crowns  in  specie  at  one  crown 
nine  sols  currency;  but  no  one  was  willing  to  give  a 
crown  in  specie  for  one  crown  nine  sols  currency.  The 
result  was  that  all  these  fine  crowns  in  specie  were 
melted  down. 

At  present,  now  the  evil  is  excessive,  there  is  a  wish 
to  repeat  a  similar  operation,  after  the  following  man- 
ner. 

1.  Crowns  in  specie  are  to  be  coined  of  9%  to  a  fine 
mark. 

2.  Bank  bills  are  to  be  issued,  which  are  to  represent 
crowns  in  specie,  and  are  to  be  realized  or  paid  in 
specie. 

3.  It  is  wished  to  fix  the  value  of  these  current 
crowns,  in  specie,  by  an  edict;  and,  as  they  could  not 
coin  the  crown  at  the  assay  of  a  crown  nine  sols  with- 
out loss,  it  is  intended  to  rajse  their  value. 

If,  therefore,  the  present  currency  of  Denmark,  that 
is  to  say,  the  bank  bills,  have  no  real  value,  but  their 
value  consists  in  the  balance  of  payment  of  this  king- 
dom (or  the  rate  of  exchange)  as  it  shall  be  for  or 
against  Denmark,  this  operation  will  be  equally  absurd 


280       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

with  the  former;  for,  if  the  bank  shall  pay  crowns  in 
specie,  in  lieu  of  the  ideal  value  of  the  currency,  it  will 
rid  itself  of  its  crowns  in  specie,  which  will  pass 
through  the  crucible,  and  the  former  confusion  will 
continue  to  exist  or  perhaps  be  increased  to  greater 
extravagance,  by  a  new  creation  of  bank  bills  repre- 
senting the  specie,  which  in  like  manner  will,  in  a  few 
months,  be  incapable  of  being  realized. 

THIRD  POSTSCRIPT. — The  new  establishment  of  the 
bank  of  specie  still  appears  to  be  obscure.  It  is  in- 
tended to  coin  one  million  four  hundred  thousand 
crowns  in  specie,  the  silver  for  which  should  be  at 
Altona. 

There  have  been  great  debates,  in  the  Council  of 
State,  between  the  Prince  of  Augustenborg,  and  the 
Minister  of  State,  Rosencranz.  The  first  requires  the 
money  should  be  coined  at  Altona,  and  the  latter  at 
Copenhagen.  It  is  said  that  the  Minister  intends  on 
this  occasion  to  give  in  his  resignation. 

Bank  bills  equal  to  the  value  of  one  million  four 
hundred  thousand  crowns  are  to  be  fabricated.  This 
bank  is  to  exchange  the  old  bills  of  the  Danish  bank 
for  the  new  bank  bills,  at  a  given  rate. 

Should  this  rate,  as  is  very  probable,  be  lower  than 
the  course  of  exchange,  it  would  be  an  excellent  ma- 
noeuvre to  buy  up  bank  bills,  at  present,  and  after- 
ward convert  them  into  specie. 


LETTER  LV 

December  12th,  1786. 

THE  true  reason  why  the  Duke  of  Weimar  is  so  feasted 
is  because  he  has  undertaken  to  bring  the  Queen  to 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      281 

consent  to  the  marriage  of  Mademoiselle  Voss.  The 
Queen  laughed  at  the  proposal,  and  said:  "Yes,  they 
shall  have  my  consent;  but  they  shall  not  have  it  for 
nothing;  on  the  contrary,  it  shall  cost  them  dear." 
And  they  are  now  paying  her  debts,  which  amount  to 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  crowns;  nor  do  I  be- 
lieve this  will  satisfy  her.  While  the  King  of  Prussia 
is  absorbed  by  meditations  on  this  marriage,  to  me  it 
appears  evident  that,  if  the  Emperor  be  capable  of  a 
reasonable  plan  he  is  now  wooing  two  wives,  Bavaria 
and  Silesia.  Yes,  Silesia;  for  I  do  not  think  that  so 
many  manoeuvres  on  the  Danube  can  be  any  other 
than  the  domino  of  the  masquerade.  But  this  is  not 
the  place  in  which  he  will  make  his  first  attempt. 
Everything  demonstrates  (and  give  me  credit  for  be- 
ginning to  know  this  part  of  Germany)  that  he  will 
keep  on  the  defensive,  on  the  side  of  Prussia,  which 
he  will  suffer  to  exhaust  itself  in  efforts  that  he  may 
freely  advance  on  Bavaria;  nor  is  it  probable  that  he 
will  trouble  himself  concerning  the  means  of  recover- 
ing Silesia,  till  he  has  first  made  that  immense  acquisi- 
tion. 

I  say  that  he  may  freely  advance;  for,  to  speak 
openly,  what  impediment  can  we  lay  in  his  way  ?  Omit- 
ing  the  million  and  one  reasons  of  indolence  or 
impotence  which  I  could  allege,  let  it  be  supposed  that 
we  should  act — we  should  take  the  Low  Countries, 
and  he  Bavaria;  we  the  Milanese,  and  he  the  republic 
of  Venice.  What  of  all  this  would  save  Silesia?  And 
what  must  soon  after  become  of  the  Prussian  power? 
It  will  be  saved  by  the  faults  of  its  neighbors.  It  will 
fall !  This  grand  fairy  palace  will  come  to  the  earth 
with  a  sudden  crush,  or  its  Government  will  undergo 
some  revolution. 

The  King  appears  very  tranquil  concerning  future 
contingencies.  He  is  building  near  New  Sans  Souci,  or 


282       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

rather  repairing  and  furnishing  a  charming  house, 
which  formerly  belonged  to  the  Lord  Marshal,  and 
which  is  destined  for  Mademoiselle  Voss.  The  Prin- 
cess of  Brunswick  has  requested  to  have  a  house  at 
Potsdam ;  and  the  King  has  bestowed  that  on  her  which 
he  inhabited  as  Prince  Royal,  which  he  is  furnishing  at 
his  own  expense.  It  is  evident  that  this  expiring 
Princess,  crippled  by  David's  disease,  and  consumed 
by  inanity,  is  to  be  lady  of  honor  to  Mademoiselle 
Voss. 

The  debts  of  the  Queen  Dowager,  the  reigning 
Queen,  the  Prince  Royal,  now  become  King,  and  of 
some  other  complaisant  people,  male  and  female,  are 
paid;  and  if  we  add  to  these  sums  the  pensions  that 
have  been  bestowed,  the  houses  that  have  been 
furnished,  and  the  officers  that  have  been  created,  we 
shall  find  the  amount  to  be  tolerably  large.  This  is 
the  true  way  to  be  prodigal  without  being  generous. 
To  this  article  it  may  be  added  that  the  King  has 
given  to  Messieurs  Blumenthal,  Gaudi,  and  Heinitz, 
Ministers  of  State,  each  a  bailliage.  This  is  a  new 
mode  of  making  a  present  of  a  thousand  louis. 
Apropos  of  the  last  of  these  Ministers,  the  King  has 
replied  to  several  persons  employed  in  the  Department 
of  the  Mines,  who  had  complained  of  being  superseded, 
that  hereafter  there  shall  be  no  claims  of  seniority. 

He  has  terminated  the  affair  of  the  Duke  of  Meck- 
lenburg with  some  slight  modifications. 

He  has  given  a  miraculous  kind  of  reception  to  Gen- 
eral Count  Kalckreuth ;  who  was  aide-de-camp  to  and 
principal  agent  of  Prince  Henry;  who  quarreled  with 
him  outrageously  for  the  Princess;  and  whom  Fred- 
erick II.  kept  at  a  distance  that  he  might  not  too  openly 
embroil  himself  with  his  brother.  Kalckreuth  is  a 
man  of  great  merit,  and  an  officer  of  the  first  class;  but 
the  affectation  with  which  he  has  been  distinguished 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      283 

by  the  King  appears  to  me  to  be  directed  against  his 
uncle;  perhaps,  too,  there  may  be  a  mingled  wish  of 
reconciling  himself  to  the  army;  but  should  Count 
Briihl  persist  in  assuming,  not  only  the  rank  which 
has  been  granted  him,  but  that  likewise  of  seniority, 
which  will  supersede  all  the  generals,  with  Moellen- 
dorf  at  their  head,  I  believe  the  dissatisfaction  will  be 
past  remedy.  All  that  is  of  little  consequence  while 
peace  shall  continue;  and  perhaps  would  be  the  same, 
were  war  immediately  declared,  for  a  year  to  come ; 
but  in  process  of  time,  that  which  has  been  sown  shall 
be  reaped.  It  is  a  strange  kind  of  calculation  which 
spreads  discontent  through  an  excellent  army  by  favors 
and  military  distinctions,  bestowed  on  a  race  of  men 
who  have  always  been  such  indifferent  warriors. 

Not  that  I  pretend  to  affirm  there  are  not  brave  and 
intelligent  men  in  the  service  of  Saxony.  There  are, 
for  example  two  at  present,  very  much  distinguished — 
Captain  Tielke  of  the  artillery,  whom  Frederick 
wished  to  gain  but  could  not,  though  he  offered  him 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonel  and  an  appointment  of 
two  thousand  crowns;  and  Count  Bellegarde,  who  is 
said  to  be  one  of  the  most  able  officers  in  the  world. 
But  these  are  not  the  persons  whom  they  have  gained 
for  the  Prussian  service.  Hitherto,  in  all  the  Saxon 
promotions,  the  thing  consulted  was  the  noble  merit 
of  being  devoted  to  THE  SECT,  or  that  of  being  recom- 
mended by  Bishopswerder. 

POSTSCRIPT. — I  forgot  to  mention  to  you  that  Comte 
d'Esterno  had,  at  my  intercession,  addressed  the  Comte 
de  Vergennes  on  the  proposition  of  inviting  M.  de 
la  Grange  into  France.  It  will  be  highly  worthy  of 
M.  de  Calonne  to  remove  those  money  difficulties 
which  M.  de  Briihl  will  not  fail  to  raise. 


284      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS   OF. 


LETTER  LVI 

December  i6th,  1786. 

GENERAL  COUNT  KALCKREUTH  continues  to  be  in 
favor.  It  is  a  subject  worthy  of  observation,  that, 
should  this  favor  be  durable,  should  advantage  be  taken 
of  the  very  great  abilities  of  this  gentleman,  and  should 
he  be  appointed  to  some  place  of  importance,  the  King 
will  then  show  he  is  not  an  enemy  to  understanding; 
he  is  not  jealous  of  the  merit  of  others;  nor  does  he 
mean  to  keep  all  men  of  known  talents  at  a  distance. 
This  will  prove  the  mystics  do  not  enjoy  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  royal  favor.  But  all  these  deductions,  I 
imagine,  are  premature;  for  although  Kalckreuth  is 
the  only  officer  of  the  army  who  has  hitherto  been 
thus  distinguished;  although  he  himself  had  conceived 
hopes  he  should  be;  although  his  merit  is  of  the  first 
order;  Moellendorf  having  placed  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  malcontents,  which  the  King  will  never  pardon; 
Pritwitz  being  only  a  brave  and  inconsiderate  soldier, 
the  ridiculous  echo  of  Moellendorf;  Anhalt  a  madman; 
Gaudi  almost  impotent,  because  of  his  size,  and  lying 
likewise  under  the  imputation  of  a  defect  in  personal 
bravery,  which  occasioned  Frederick  II.  to  say  of  him, 
"He  is  a  good  professor,  but  when  the  boys  are  to 
repeat  the  lessons  they  have  learned,  he  is  never  to  be 
found."  Although  his  other  rivals  are  too  young,  and 
too  inexperienced,  to  give  him  any  uneasiness ;  in  spite 
of  all  this,  I  say,  I  scarcely  can  imagine  but  that  the 
principal  cause  of  the  distinction  with  which  the  King 
has  treated  him  was  the  desire  of  humbling  Prince 
Henry.  At  least  I  am  very  intimate  with  Kalckreuth, 
of  whom  I  made  a  tolerably  sure  conquest  at  the  re- 
views of  Magdeburg,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      285 

I  know  everything  which  has  passed  between  him  and 
the  King ;  in  all  which  I  do  not  perceive  either  anything 
conclusive,  or  anything  of  great  promise. 

The  King  supports  his  capitation  tax.  It  is  said  it 
will  be  fixed  according  to  the  following  rates :  A  lieu- 
tenant general,  a  Minister  of  State,  or  the  widow  of 
one  of  these,  at  about  twelve  crowns,  or  forty-eight 
French  livres;  a  major  general,  or  a  privy  councilor, 
at  ten  crowns;  a  chamberlain,  or  colonel,  eight;  a 
gentleman,  six;  a  peasant,  who  holds  lands  in  good 
provinces,  three;  a  half-peasant  (a  peasant  who  holds 
lands  has  thirty  acres,  a  half-peasant,  ten),  a  crown 
twelve. groschen.  In  the  poor  provinces,  a  peasant  two 
crowns,  a  half-peasant,  one. 

Coffee  hereafter  is  only  to  pay  one  groschen  per 
pound,  and  tobacco  the  same.  The  general  directory 
has  received  a  memorial  on  the  subject  so  strongly  to 
the  purpose  that,  although  anonymous,  it  has  been 
officially  read,  after  which  it  was  formally  copied  to  be 
sent  to  the  tobacco  administration,  in  order  to  have 
certain  facts  verified.  The  step  appeared  to  be  so  bold 
that  the  formal  copy,  or  protocol,  was  only  signed  by 
four  ministers — Messieurs  Hertzberg,  Arnim,  Heinitz, 
and  Schulemberg  von  Blumberg. 

The  merchants  deputized  by  the  city  of  Konigsberg 
have  written  that,  if  salt  is  to  continue  to  be  monopo- 
lized by  the  Maritime  Company,  it  will  be  useless  for 
them  to  come  to  Berlin;  for  they  can  only  be  the 
bearers  of  grievances,  without  knowing  what  to  pro- 
pose. It  is  asserted,  in  consequence,  that  the  Maritime 
Company  will  lose  the  monopoly  of  salt.  This  intelli- 
gence, to  say  the  least,  is  very  premature.  Salt  is  an 
exceedingly  important  article ;  and  Struensee,  who  has 
exerted  his  whole  faculties  to  secure  it  to  himself,  has 
been  so  perfectly  successful  that  he  sells  five  thousand 
lasts  of  salt,  twenty-eight  muids  constituting  nine 


286      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

lasts.  (The  muid  is  one  hundred  and  forty-four 
bushels.) 

I  ask  one  again,  if  the  Maritime  Company  is  to  be 
deprived  of  its  most  lucrative  monopolies,  how  can  it 
afford  to  pay  ten  per  cent  for  a  capital  of  twelve  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns?  When  an  edifice,  the  summit 
of  which  is  so  lofty  and  the  basis  so  narrow,  is  once 
raised,  before  any  part  of  it  should  be  demolished, 
it  were  very  necessary  to  consult  concerning  the  props 
by  which  the  remainder  is  to  be  supported.  The  King 
has  declared  that  he  will  render  trade  perfectly  free, 
if  any  means  can  be  found  of  not  lessening  the  revenue. 
Is  not  this  declaration  pleasantly  benevolent?  I  think 
I  hear  Job  on  his  dunghill,  exclaiming,  "  I  consent  to 
be  cured  of  all  my  ulcers,  and  to  be  restored  to  perfect 
health,  provided  you  will  not  give  me  any  physic,  and 
will  not  subject  me  to  any  regimen." 

The  munificence  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  which 
shall  restore  freedom  to  all  the  merchandise  of  France, 
by  obliging  it  to  pay  excessive  heavy  duties,  the  pro- 
duce of  which  shall  be  applied  to  the  encouragement  of 
such  manufactures  as  shall  be  supposed  capable  of 
rivaling  the  manufactures  of  foreign  nations.  I  know 
not  whether  the  King  imagines  he  has  conferred  a 
great  benefit  on  trade;  but  I  know  that  throughout 
Europe  all  contraband  commerce  is  become  a  mere 
article  of  insurance,  the  premium  of  which  is  more  or 
less  according  to  local  circumstances;  and  that  there- 
fore a  heavy  duty  (with  respect  to  the  revenue)  is 
equivalent  to  a  prohibition. 

The  King  has  ordered  his  subjects  to  be  numbered, 
that  he  may  not  only  know  their  number,  but  their  age 
and  sex.  Probably,  the  changes  which  are  projected  to 
be  made  in  the  army  are  to  be  the  result  of  this  enu- 
meration. But  we  know  how  difficult  all  such  number- 
ings  are  in  every  country  upon  earth.  Another  affair 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      287 

is  in  agitation,  of  a  much  more  delicate  nature,  and 
which  supposes  a  general  plan  and  great  fortitude; 
which  is  a  land  tax  on  the  estates  of  the  nobles.  The 
project  begins  to  transpire,  and  the  provincial  coun- 
selors have  received  orders  to  send  certain  informa- 
tions, which  seem  to  have  this  purpose  in  view.  I 
will  believe  it  is  accomplished  when  I  see  it. 

Single  and  distinct  facts  are  of  less  importance  to 
you  than  an  intimate  knowledge  of  him  who  governs. 
All  the  characters  of  weakness  are  united  to  those  I 
have  so  often  described.  Spies  already  are  employed; 
informers  are  made  welcome;  those  who  remonstrate 
meet  anger,  and  the  sincere  are  repulsed  or  driven  to 
a  distance.  Women  only  preserve  the  right  of  saying 
what  they  please.  There  has  lately  been  a  private 
concert,  at  which  Madame  Hencke,  or  Rietz,  for  you 
know  that  this  is  one  and  the  same  person,  was  present, 
and  stood  behind  a  screen.  Some  noise  was  heard  at 
the  door.  A  valet  de  chambre  half  opened  it,  and  there 
found  the  Princess  Frederica  of  Prussia  and  Made- 
moiselle Voss.  The  first  made  a  sign  for  him  to  be 
silent.  The  valet  de  chambre  disobeyed.  The  King 
instantly  rose,  and  introduced  the  two  ladies.  Some 
minutes  afterwards,  a  noise  was  again  heard  behind 
the  screen.  The  King  appeared  to  be  embarrased. 
Mademoiselle  Voss  asked  what  it  was.  Her  royal 
lover  replied,  "  Nothing  but  my  people."  The  two 
ladies,  however,  had  quitted  the  Queen's  card  table  to 
indulge  this  pretty  whim.  The  King  was  making  a 
joke  of  the  matter,  on  the  morrow,  when  one  of  the 
ladies  of  the  palace  who  was  present  said  to  him,  "The 
thing  is  very  true,  Sire ;  but  it  were  to  be  wished  that  it 
were  not."  Another  lady  asked  him,  the  other  day,  at 
table,  "  But  why,  Sire,  are  all  the  letters  opened  at  the 
post  office?  It  is  a  very  ridiculous  and  very  odious 
proceeding." 


288      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

He  was  told  that  the  German  plays,  which  he  pro- 
tects very  much,  are  not  good.  "  Granted,"  replied 
he;  "but  better  these  than  a  French  playhouse,  which 
would  fill  Berlin  with  hussies,  and  corrupt  the  manners 
of  the  people."  From  which,  no  doubt,  you  must  con- 
clude that  the  German  actresses  are  Lucretias.  You 
must  also  especially  admire  the  morality  of  this  pro- 
tector of  morals,  who  goes  to  sup  in  the  house  of  his 
former  mistress,  with  three  women,  and  makes  a  pro- 
curess of  his  daughter. 

He  troubles  himself  as  little  with  foreign  politics  as 
if  he  were  entirely  secure  from  all  possible  tempests. 
He  speaks  in  panegyrics  of  the  Emperor,  of  the 
French  always  with  a  sneer,  of  the  English  with  re- 
spect. The  fact  is,  the  man  appears  to  be  nothing,  less 
than  nothing;  and  I  fear  lest  those  diversions  which 
may  be  made  in  his  favor  are  exaggerated.  I  shall,  on 
this  occasion,  notice  that  the  Due  de  Deux-Ponts 
escapes  us ;  but  he  unites  himself  the  closer  to  the  Ger- 
manic league,  which  has  so  high  an  opinion  of  itself 
that  it  really  believes  it  does  not  stand  in  need  of  our 
aid.  Under  the  standard  of  what  chief  it  has  acquired 
this  presumption  Heaven  knows ! 

There  is  an  anecdote  which  to  me  is  prophetical,  but 
the  force  of  which  you  will  not  feel,  for  want  of  know- 
ing the  country.  Prince  Ferdinand  has  received  the 
fifty  thousand  crowns  which  were  clue  to  him,  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  the  King,  on  the  simple  word  of 
Werder,  conceived  in  these  words :  "His  Majesty 
has  given  me  his  verbal  command  to  lay  down  the 
fifty  thousand  crowns  to  Your  Highness,  which  will 
be  paid  to  you  or  your  order,  by  the  Treasury,  at  sight. 
— Welner."  An  order  for  fifty  thousand  crowns,  to  be 
paid  down,  signed  by  any  other  than  the  King,  is  a 
monstrosity  in  the  political  regulations  of  Prussia. 

Erect  a  bank,  and  blessings  be  upon  you;  for  it  is  the 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      289 

sole  resource  for  finance  which  would  not  be  horribly 
burdensome;  the  only  money-machine  which,  instead 
of  borrowing  with  dearness  and  difficulty,  will  cause 
you  to  receive;  the  only  corner  stone  on  which,  under 
present  circumstances,  the  basis  of  the  power  of  the 
Minister  of  Finance  can  be  supported.  Struensee,  who 
is  more  stiff  in  the  stirrups  than  ever,  since  he  must 
necessarily  become  the  professor  of  the  new  Ministry, 
has  charged  me  to  inform  you  that  the  King  will 
probably  purchase  shares  to  the  amount  of  several  mil- 
lions, if  you  will  send  him  (Struensee)  an  abstract  of 
the  regulations  of  the  bank,  according  to  which  he  may 
make  his  report  and  proposals. 

Apropos  of  Struensee,  with  whom  I  am  daily  more 
intimate.  He  has  desired  me  to  inform  you  that  the 
change  of  the  commandite  for  the  dealing  in  piastres 
will  very  powerfully  lower  your  exchange;  and  the 
following  is  his  reasoning  to  prove  his  assertion : 

'  The  remonstrances  of  the  Bank  of  St.  Charles  to 
preserve  the  remittances  of  the  Court,  on  commission, 
at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent,  have  been  entirely  rejected; 
it  has  only  been  able  to  obtain  them  on  speculation, 
and  on  the  conditions  proposed  by  the  Gremios;  that  is 
to  say,  at  an  interest  of  six  per  cent  for  the  money 
advanced. 

*  The  same  bank  has  lately  changed  the  commandite 
at  Paris  for  the  piastre  business,  and  substituted  the 
house  of  Le  Normand  to  that  of  Le  Couteulx.  As  the 
former  does  not  at  present  possess  so  extensive  a 
credit  as  the  latter,  many  people  foresee  that  the 
Spanish  bank  will  be  under  the  necessity  of  keeping 
a  greater  supply  of  ready  money  with  their  commandite. 

"  In  the  interim,  it  has  found  itself  extremely  dis- 
tressed. Desirous  of  settling  its  accounts  with  the 
House  of  Le  Counteulx,  and  other  houses  in  France, 
it  was  in  want  of  the  sum  of  three  millions  of  French 


290      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

livres.  To  obtain  this,  it  addressed  itself  to  Govern- 
ment, and  endeavored  to  call  in  sixty  millions  of  reals 
which  were  its  due.  Government  having,  under  vari- 
ous pretenses,  declined  payment,  the  bank  declared  it- 
self insolvent,  and  that  it  must  render  the  state  of  its 
affairs  public.  This  means  produced  its  effect;  Gov- 
ernment came  to  its  aid,  and  gave  it  assignments  for 
twenty  millions  of  reals,  payable  annually." 


LETTER  LVII 

December   igth,   1786. 

THE  comedy  which  Prince  Henry  had  promised  the 
world  every  Monday  had  its  first  representation  on 
yesterday  evening.  The  King  came,  contrary  to  the 
expectation  of  the  Prince,  and  highly  amused  himself. 
I  was  a  close  observer  of  royalty,  as  you  may  sup- 
pose. It  is  incontrovertibly  the  cup  of  Circe  which 
must  be  presented,  in  order  to  seduce  him,  but  filled 
rather  with  beer  than  tokay.  One  remark  sufficiently 
curious,  which  I  made,  was  that  Prince  Henry  amused 
himself  for  his  own  personal  pleasure,  and  was  not 
subject  to  the  least  absence  of  mind,  neither  of  politics 
nor  of  attention  to  his  guests.  All  the  foreign  minis- 
ters were  present,  but  I  was  the  only  stranger  who 
stayed  to  supper ;  and  the  King,  who,  when  the  comedy 
was  over,  behaved  all  the  evening  with  great  reserve, 
except  when  some  burst  of  laughter  was  forced  from 
him  by  the  obscene  jests  of  Prince  Frederick  of  Bruns- 
wick, contemplated  me  with  an  eye  more  than  cold. 
He  is  incessantly  irritated  against  me  by  speeches  which 
are  made  FOR  ME;  and  the  most  harmless  of  my  ac- 
quaintance are  represented  as  personally  offensive  to 
his  Majesty.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  perfectly  the 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      291 

reverse  of  disconsolate  on  the  subject.  I  only  notice 
this  that  I  may  describe  my  present  situation,  exactly 
as  it  is,  without  any  hypocrisy. 

It  is  true  that  Count  Hertzberg  has  been  on  the  point 
of  losing  his  place,  the  occasion  of  which  was  what  fol- 
lows :  He  had  announced  the  promised  arrangement 
to  the  Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  notwithstanding  which, 
the  affair  was  not  expedited.  Driven  beyond  his  pa- 
tience, and  impatience  in  him  is  always  brutal,  he  one 
day  said  to  the  members  of  the  General  Directory, 
"  Gentlemen,  you  must  proceed  a  little  faster ;  business 
is  not  done  thus;  this  is  a  State  which  can  only  pro- 
ceed with  activity."  An  account  was  given  to  the  King 
of  this  vehement  apostrophe.  The  Sovereign  warmly 
reprimanded  his  Minister,  who  offered  to  resign. 
Blumenthal,  it  is  said,  accommodated  the  affair. 

Apropos  of  the  Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  the  King, 
when  he  received  his  thanks  for  the  restitution  of  his 
bailliagcs,  said  to  him,  "  I  have  done  nothing  more 
than  my  duty;  read  the  device  of  my  order"  (Suitm 
cuiqnc).  The  Poles,  when  the  Prussian  arms  were 
erected  to  denote  the  limits  of  the  frontiers,  after  dis- 
memberment by  the  late  King,  added  rapuit  to  the 
motto.  I  do  not  imagine  Frederick  William  will  ever 
give  occasion  to  a  similar  epigram. 

A  very  remarkable  incident  in  the  history  of  the 
human  heart  was  the  following:  After  various  re- 
trenchments had  been  made  upon  this  Duke,  especially 
in  the  promises  that  had  been  given  him,  one  of  the 
courtiers  represented  to  the  King  that  he  would  not 
be  satisfied.  "  Well,"  said  his  Majesty,  "  then  we 
must  give  him  a  yellow  ribbon ;  "  and,  accordingly, 
yesterday  the  yellow  ribbon  was  given.  The  vainglori- 
ous Duke  at  this  moment  found  the  arrangement  of  the 
bailliagcs  perfectly  satisfactory,  and  this  was  the  occa- 
sion of  his  coming  to  return  thanks. 

10— Memoirs  Vol.  5 


292       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Would  you  wish  to  obtain  a  tolerably  just  idea  of 
the  manner  of  living,  in  this  noble  TENNIS  COURT, 
called  the  Court  of  Berlin?  If  so,  pay  some  attention 
to  the  following  traits,  and  recollect  that  I  could  col- 
lect a  hundred  of  the  same  species. 

The  Princess  Frederica  of  Prussia  is  now  nineteen, 
and  her  apartment  is  open  at  eleven  every  morning. 

The  Dukes  of  Weimar,  Holstein,  and  Mecklenburg, 
all  ill-bred  libertines,  go  in  and  out  of  it  two  or  three 
times  in  the  course  of  the  forenoon. 

The  Duke  of  Mecklenburg  was  recounting  I  know 
not  what  tale  to  the  King.  The  Prince  of  Brunswick, 
awkwardly  enough,  trod  on  the  toe  of  a  person  pres- 
ent, to  make  him  take  notice  of  something  which  he 
thought  ridiculous.  The  Duke  stopped  short  in  his 
discourse — "  I  believe,  sir,  you  are  diverting  yourself 
at  my  expense."  He  went  on  with  his  conversation  to 
the  King,  and  presently  stopped  again — "  I  have  long, 
sir,  been  acquainted  with  the  venom  of  your  tongue; 
if  you  have  anything  to  say,  speak  it  to  my  face,  and  I 
shall  answer  you."  More  conversation  and  other  in- 
terruptions. "  When  I  am  gone,  Sire,  the  Prince  will 
paint  me  in  charming  colors;  I  beg  Your  Majesty  will 
recollect  what  has  just  passed." 

This  same  Prince  Frederick  is,  as  I  have  very  often 
told  you,  the  chief  of  the  mystics,  against  whom  he  ut- 
tered the  most  horrid  things  to  Baron  Knyphausen. 

"  But  how  is  this,  my  Lord  ?  "  replied  the  Baron ; 
"  I  understood  you  were  the  Pope  of  that  Church." 
"  It  is  false."  "  I  have  too  good  an  opinion  of  your 
honesty  to  imagine  you  can  be  of  a  sect  which  you 
disavow;  I,  therefore,  give  you  my  promise  every- 
where to  declare  you  despise  the  mystics  too  much  to  be 
one  of  them;  and  thus  you  will  recover  your  repu- 
tation." The  Prince  beat  about  the  bush,  and  called 
off  his  dogs. 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      293 

A  courtier,  a  grand  marshal  of  the  Court,  petitions 
for  a  place  promised  to  five  candidates.  I  remarked 
to  him,  "  But  how,  monsieur,  if  the  place  be  en- 
gaged?" "  Oh,  engagements  are  nothing  at  present," 
answered  he,  gravely;  "  for  this  month  past  we  have 
left  off  keeping  our  word." 

Welner,  the  real  author  of  the  disgrace  of  Schulem- 
burg,  went  to  see  him,  pitied  him,  and  said,  "  You 
have  too  much  merit  not  to  'have  many  enemies."  "  I, 
many  enemies,  monsieur!"  said  the  ex-Minister;  "I 
know  of  but  three — Prince  Frederick,  because  I  would 
not  give  his  huntsman  a  place ;  Bishopswerder,  because 
I  dismissed  one  of  his  dependents;  and  you,  because — 
I  know  not  why."  Welner  began  to  weep,  and  to 
swear  that  detraction  was  everywhere  rending  his 
character.  "  Tears  are  unworthy  of  men,"  said  Schu- 
lemburg;  "  and  I  am  unable  to  thank  you  for  yours." 

In  a  word,  all  is  sunken  to  the  diminutive,  as  all  was 
exalted  to  the  grand. 

It  is  asserted  that  the  Prussian  merchants  will  be  al- 
lowed a  free  trade  in  salt  and  wax.  I  cannot  verify 
the  fact  to-day;  Struensee  will  be  too  much  occupied, 
it  being  post  day;  but  if  it  be  true,  the  Maritime  Com- 
pany, which  at  once  will  be  deprived  of  salt,  wax,  cof- 
fee, tobacco,  and  probably  of  wood,  cannot  longer 
support  the  burden  of  eighteen  per  cent  at  the  least;  a 
profit  which  no  solid  trade  can  afford,  and  which,  per- 
haps Schulemburg  himself,  with  all  his  lucrative  ex- 
clusive privileges,  could  not  have  paid,  but  by  per- 
plexing the  treasury  accounts,  so  that  the  gains  of  one 
branch  concealed  the  deficiencies  of  another. 

As  to  the  silk  manufactures,  which  are  proposed  to 
be  laid  aside,  I  do  not  perceive  than  any  inconvenience 
whatever  will  result  from  this.  An  annual  bounty  of 
forty  thousand  rix-dollars  divided  among  the  master 
weavers  of  Berlin,  added  to  the  prohibition  of  foreign 


294      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

silks,  will  never  enable  them  to  maintain  a  competition. 
Nay,  as  I  have  before  explained  to  you,  the  very  manu- 
facturers themselves  smuggle,  and  thus  supply  more 
than  one-third  of  the  silks  that  are  used  in  the  country ; 
for  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that  purchasers  will  prefer  the 
best  silks,  which  have  more  substance  than,  and  are  of 
superior  workmanship  to,  those  which  monopoly 
would  oblige  them  to  buy.  Not  that  the  raw  materials 
cost  the  manufacturer  of  Berlin  more  than  they  do  the 
manufacturer  of  Lyons.  They  both  procure  them 
from  the  same  countries,  and  the  former  does  not  pay 
the  six  per  cent  entrance  duty  to  which  the  Lyons  manu- 
facturer is  subject;  besides  that,  the  German  workman 
will  labor  with  more  diligence  than  the  French ;  nor  is 
labor  much  dearer  here  than  at  Lyons.  The  one  re- 
ceives eighty  centimes  an  ell  for  making,  and  the  other, 
ninety-five  centimes  for  the  same  quality,  of  equal 
fineness,  which  scarcely  amounts  to  one  and  a  half  per 
cent  on  the  price  of  the  silk,  estimated  at  five  livres 
the  French  ell.  The  Berlin  manufacturer  has  like- 
wise, by  a  multitude  of  local  calculations  of  trade,  to 
which  I  have  paid  severe  attention,  an  advantage  of 
thirty  per  cent  over  the  Lyons  trader,  at  the  fair  of 
Frankfort  on  the  Oder.  And,  whether  it  proceed  from 
a  defect  in  the  Government,  the  poverty  of  the  work- 
men, or  the  ignorance  of  the  manufacturer,  he  still  can- 
not support  the  competition.  Of  what  use,  therefore, 
are  so  many  ruinous  looms,  of  which  there  are  not  less 
than  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty,  at  Berlin,  Potsdam, 
Frankfort,  and  Koepnic? — the  product  of  which,  how- 
ever, is  far  from  being  equivalent  to  the  same  number 
of  looms  at  Lyons.  The  Berlin  weaver  will  not,  at 
the  utmost,  do  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  work 
turned  out  of  hand  by  the  weaver  of  Lyons.  Of  these 
sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  looms,  we  may  reckon  about 
twelve  hundred  in  which  are  weaved  taffetas,  bro- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      295 

cades,  velvets,  etc.  The  remainder  are  employed  in 
fabricating  gauze,  about  nine  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand Berlin  ells  of  which  are  annually  produced.  (The 
French  ell  is  equal  to  an  ell  three-quarters  of  Berlin 
measure.)  The  twelve  hundred  silk  looms  only  pro- 
duce about  nine  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  ells; 
which  in  the  whole  amount  to  one  million  nine  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  ells.  The  sum  total  of  the  looms 
consume  about  one  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand 
pounds  weight  of  raw  silk,  at  sixteen  ounces  to  the 
pound.  (You  know  that  seventy-six  thousand  pounds 
weight  of  raw  silk  will  require  about  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  thousand  pounds  weight  of  undressed  silk.) 
There  are  also  twenty-eight  thousand  pair,  per  annum, 
of  silk  stockings  fabricated  at  Berlin;  which  consume 
about  five  thousand  pounds  weight  of  raw  silk.  It  is 
principally  in  the  stocking  manufactory  that  the  silk 
of  the  country  is  employed ;  which,  in  reality,  is  supe- 
rior in  quality  to  that  of  the  Levant;  but  they  so  ill 
understand  the  art  of  spinning  it,  in  the  Prussian 
States,  that  it  is  with  difficulty  worked  in  the  silk  loom. 
The  stocking  manufacturers  use  it  to  a  greater  advan- 
tage, because  being  cheap,  and  of  a  strong  quality, 
stockings  are  made  from  it  preferable  to  those  of 
Nismes  and  Lyons,  in  which  cities  the  rejected  silk 
alone  is  set  apart  for  stockings.  From  eight  to  twelve 
thousand  pounds  weight  of  silk  is  annually  obtained  in 
the  Prussian  States,  in  which  there  are  mulberry 
trees  enough  to  supply  thirty  thousand  pounds  weight. 
This  constitutes  no  very  formidable  rivalship  with 
the  silk  produced  in  the  States  of  the  King  of 
Sardinia. 

The  commission  of  inquiry  has  written  to  inform 
Launay  that  it  has  no  further  demand  to  make  from 
him ;  and  in  consequence  he  has  addressed  the  King  for 
permission  to  depart.  The  King  replied,  "I  have  told 


296      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

you  to  wait  here  till  the  commission  shall  be  closed." 
There  is  either  cunning  or  tyranny  on  one  side  or  the 
other. 


LETTER  LVIII 

December  2$d,  1786. 

MADEMOISELLE  HENCKE,  or  Madame  Rietz,  as  you 
think  proper  to  call  her,  has  petitioned  the  King  to  be 
pleased  to  let  her  know  what  she  is  to  expect,  and  to 
give  her  an  estate  on  which  she  may  retire.  The 
Sovereign  offered  her  a  country  house,  at  the  distance 
of  some  leagues  from  Potsdam.  The  lady  sent  a  posi- 
tive refusal,  and  the  King,  in  return,  will  not  hear  any 
mention  made  of  an  estate.  It  is  difficult  to  say  what 
shall  be  the  product  of  this  conflict  between  cupidity  and 
avarice.  The  pastoral,  in  the  meantime,  proceeds  with- 
out relaxation.  "Inez  de  Castro"  has  several  times 
been  performed  at  the  German  theater,  imitated  from 
the  English,  and  not  from  the  French.  In  the  fourth 
act,  the  Prince  repeats  with  ardor  every  oath  of  fidelity 
to  a  lady  of  honor.  This  has  been  the  moment  of  each 
representation  which  the  Queen  has  chosen  to  leave  the 
house.  Was  it  the  effect  of  chance,  or  was  it  in- 
tendedly  marked?  This  is  a  question  that  cannot  be 
answered,  from  any  consideration  of  the  turbulent  and 
versatile,  but  not  very  feeble,  character  of  this  Prin- 
cess. 

When  her  brother-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Weimar,  ar- 
rived, the  King  gave  him  a  very  gracious  reception; 
and,  by  degrees,  his_countenance  changed  to  icy  cold- 
ness. Conjectures  are  that  he  has  been  lukewarm,  or 
has  wanted  address  in  his  negotiation  with  the  Queen, 
on  the  subject  of  the  marriage,  which  is  far  from  being 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      297 

determined  on.  Two  private  houses  have  been  bought 
at  Potsdam,  and  have  been  furnished  with  every  de- 
gree of  magnificence.  And  to  what  purpose,  if  mar- 
riage be  intended?  May  not  the  wife  be  lodged  in  the 
palace?  Speaking  of  arrangements,  let  me  inform 
you  that  the  King  has  sent  a  M.  Paris,  his  valet  de 
chambre,  into  France,  to  pay  his  personal  debts  there, 
and  to  purchase  such  things  as  are  wanting  to  these 
newly  bought  houses  which  are  consecrated  to  love. 

The  relations  of  Mademoiselle  Voss,  who  four 
months  since  pressed  her  to  depart  for  Silesia,  there  to 
marry  a  gentleman  who  asked  her  hand,  are  at  present 
the  first  to  declare  that  the  projected  royal  marriage 
would  be  ridiculous,  and  even  absurd.  In  fact,  its  con- 
sequences might  be  very  dangerous;  for,  should  dis- 
gust succeed  enjoyment,  a  thing  which  has  been  seen  to 
happen,  Mademoiselle  Voss  must  separate  with  a  pen- 
sion; instead  of  which,  in  her  rank  of  favorite,  she 
might  rapidly  make  her  own  fortune,  that  of  her 
family,  and  procure  the  advancement  of  her  creatures. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  time  is  passed  at  Potsdam  in 
projecting  bowers  for  love;  and,  though  the  Sovereign 
might  not  perhaps  be  exactly  addressed  in  the  words  of 
LA  HIRE  to  Charles  VII. — "  I  assure  you,  Sire,  it  is 
impossible  to  lose  a  kingdom  with  greater  gayety,"  it 
may  at  least  be  said,  "  It  is  impossible  to  risk  a  king- 
more  tenderly."  But  whatever  tranquillity  may  be 
affected,  there  are  proceedings  and  projects  which, 
without  alarming,  for  he  certainly  has  valor,  occupy 
the  Monarch.  The  journey  of  the  Emperor  to  Cher- 
son,  the  very  abrupt  and  very  formal  declaration  of 
Russia  to  the  city  of  Dantzic,  the  intended  camp  of 
eighty  thousand  men  in  Bohemia,  for  the  amusement 
of  the  King  of  Naples,  are  at  least  incidents  that  may 
compel  attention,  if  not  remark.  There  are  doubts  con- 
cerning the  journey  of  the  Empress  into  the  Crimea,, 


298      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Potemkin  being  unwilling  to  make  her  a  witness  of  the 
incredible  poverty  of  the  people  and  the  army,  in  this 
newly  acquired  garden. 

The  discouragement  of  the  Ministry  of  Berlin  still 
continues  to  increase.  The  King,  for  these  two  months 
has  not  acted  in  concert  with  any  single  Minister. 
Hence  their  torpor  and  pusillanimity  are  augmented. 
Count  Hertzberg  is  progressive  in  his  descent,  and 
Werder  begins  to  decline.  The  King  remains  totally 
unconcerned;  and  never  was  the  mania  of  reigning  in 
person  and  of  doing  nothing  carried  to  greater  excess. 
Instead  of  the  capitation,  a  tax  on  houses  is  talked  of 
as  a  substitute.  I  begin  to  think  that  neither  of  these 
taxes  will  take  place.  There  is  an  inclination  to  retract 
without  disgrace,  if  that  be  possible;  and  the  pretext 
will  be  furnished  by  the  advice  of  the  provincial  presi- 
dents. It  is  the  more  extraordinary  that  this  capitation 
tax  should  be  so  much  persisted  in,  since,  under  the 
reign  of  Frederick  William  I.,  a  similar  attempt  was 
made,  and  which  on  the  second  year  was  obliged  to 
be  renounced. 

The  Prussian  army  has  made  a  new  acquisition,  of 
the  same  kind  with  those  by  which  it  has  been  enriched 
for  these  four  months  past.  I  speak  of  Prince  Eugene 
of  Wurtemberg.  He  began  his  career  by  an  excess 
of  libertinage.  He  since  has  distinguished  himself  in 
the  trade  of  corporal-schlag,  and  by  stretching  the 
severity  of  discipline  to  ferocity.  He  notwithstand- 
ing, has  not  acquired  any  great  reputation  by  these 
means.  He  has  lived  at  Paris,  and  plunged  into 
mesmerism.  He  afterward  professed  to  be  a  somnam- 
bulist, and  next  continued  the  farce,  by  the  practice  of 
midwifery.  These  different  masquerades  accompanied 
and  concealed  the  real  object  of  his  ambition  and  his 
fervor,  which  is  to  give  credit  to  the  sect  of  the  mystics, 
of  whom  he  is  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  chiefs.  A 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      299 

regiment  has  lately  been  granted  him,  which  brings 
him  to  Berlin.  His  fortune  will  not  permit  him  to  live 
wholly  there ;  but  his  situation  will  allow  him  to  make 
journeys  to  that  city,  where  he  will  be  useful  to  the 
fathers  of  the  new  church.  Singular,  ardent,  and  ac- 
tive, he  delivers  himself  like  an  oracle  and  enslaves 
his  hearers  by  his  powerful  and  ecstatic  elocution,  with 
his  eyes  sometimes  haggard,  always  inflamed,  and  his 
countenance  in  excessive  emotion.  In  a  word,  he  is 
one  of  those  men  whom  hypocritics  and  jugglers  make 
their  successful  precursors. 

2$d,  at  Noon. 

I  have  just  had  a  very  deep  and  almost  sentimental 
conversation  with  Prince  Henry. 

He  is  in  a  state  of  utter  discouragement  as  well  on 
his  own  behalf  as  on  behalf  of  his  country.  He  has 
confirmed  all  I  have  related  to  you,  and  all  I  shall  now 
relate, — torpor  in  every  operation,  gloom  at  Court, 
stupefaction  among  Ministers,  discontent  everywhere. 
Little  is  projected,  less  still  is  executed.  When  it  is 
noticed  that  business  is  suffered  to  languish,  the  King's 
being  in  love  is  very  gravely  given  as  the  reason,  and 
it  is  affirmed  that  the  vigor  of  administration  depends 
on  the  compliance  of  Mademoiselle  Voss.  Remarks  at 
the  same  time  are  made  how  ridiculous  it  is  thus  to 
suspend  the  affairs  of  a  whole  kingdom,  etc.,  etc. 

The  General  Directory,  which  should  be  a  Council 
of  State,  is  nothing  more  than  an  office  to  expedite 
common  occurrences.  If  Ministers  make  any  propo- 
sition no  answer  is  returned;  if  they  remonstrate  they 
meet  with  disgust.  What  they  ought  to  do  is  so  far 
from  what  they  actually  do  that  the  debasement  of 
their  dignity  occasions  very  disagreeable  reflections. 
Never  was  a  public  opinion  produced  more  suddenly 


300      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

than  it  has  been  by  Frederick  William  II.,  in  a  country 
where  the  seeds  of  such  opinion  did  not  appear  to 
exist. 

I  Prince  Henry  can  find  no  remedy  for  domestic 
vices,  but  he  has  no  apprehensions  concerning  foreign 
affairs;  because  the  King  is  at  present  wholly  decided 
in  favor  of  France,  and  still  more  destitute  of  confi- 
dence for  the  favorers  of  the  English  faction.  Pray 
take  notice  that  this  is  the  version  of  the  Prince;  not 
that  I  am  very  incapable  of  believing  it,  if  we  do  not 
throw  up  our  own  chances. 

What  the  public  papers  have  announced  respecting 
the  journey  of  Prince  Henry,  is  without  foundation. 
Some  wish  to  go  to  Spa  and  France,  but  no  plan  is 
yet  determined  on;  a  vague  hope,  which  he  cannot 
suffer  to  expire,  notwithstanding  the  blows  he  receives, 
will  detain  him  at  Rheinsberg.  Year  will  succeed  to 
year;  the  moment  of  rest  will  arrive,  and  habit  will 
enchain  him  in  his  frosty  castle,  which  he  has  lately 
enlarged  and  rendered  more  commodious.  To  these 
different  motives,  add  a  nullity  of  character,  a  will 
unstable  as  the  clouds,  frequent  indisposition,  and  a 
heated  imagination,  by  which  he  is  exhausted.  That 
which  we  desire  without  success,  gives  more  torment 
than  that  which  is  executed  with  difficulty. 

A  second  Minister  is  to  be  appointed  for  Silesia ;  one 
singly  is  a  kind  of  viceroy.  It  is  dangerous,  say  they, 
to  see  with  the  eyes  of  an  individual  only.  Divide  et 
impera.  Thus  far  have  they  advanced  in  their  politics. 

Prince  Frederick  of  Brunswick  is  ardently  active  in 
his  intrigues  against  Prince  Henry,  and  the  Duke  his 
brother.  What  he  wishes  is  not  known ;  but  he  wishes, 
and  hence  he  has  acquired  a  certain  importance  among 
the  tumultuous  crowd,  wrho  cannot  perceive  that  a 
contemptible  Prince  is  still  more  contemptible  than  an 
ordinary  man.  He  neither  can  be  of  any  durable  util- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      301 

ity,  nor  in  the  least  degree  agreeable  or  estimable ;  but, 
under  certain  given  circumstances,  he  may  be  a  very 
necessary  spy. 


LETTER  LIX 

December  26th,   1786. 

A  GRAND  list  of  promotions  is  spoken  of,  in  which 
Prince  Henry  and  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  are  in- 
cluded, as  field  marshals.  But  the  first  says  he  will 
not  be  a  field  marshal.  He  continually  opposed  that 
title  being  bestowed  on  the  Duke,  under  Frederick  II., 
who  refused  to  confer  such  a  rank  on  the  princes  of 
the  blood.  This  alternative  of  haughtiness  and  vanity, 
even  aided  by  his  ridiculous  comedy,  will  not  lead  him 
far.  He  intends  to  depart  in  the  month  of  September 
for  Spa ;  he  is  afterward  to  visit  our  southern  prov- 
inces, and  from  thence  is  to  continue  his  journey  to 
Paris,  where  he  is  to  pass  the  winter.  Such  are  his 
present  projects,  and  the  probability  is  sufficiently 
great  that  not  anything  of  all  this  will  happen. 

The  King  has  declared  that  he  will  not  bestow  any 
places  on  persons  who  are  already  in  office  under  the 
Princes.  This  may  perhaps  be  the  cause  that  Count 
Nostitz  has  forsaken  Prince  Henry.  The  Count  is  a 
very  strange  kind  of  being. 

First  sent  into  Sweden,  where  he  erected  himself  a 
chief  of  some  envoys  of  the  second  order,  finding  him- 
self dissatisfied  with  the  severe  laws  of  etiquette,  he 
passed  a  slovenly  life  in  an  office,  which  he  exercised 
without  abilities.  On  his  return  he  procured  himself 
the  appointment  of  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  accom- 
panied the  Prince  Royal  into  Russia,  but  the  consent 
of  the  Prince  he  had  forgotten  to  ask.  He  was  con- 


302      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

sequently  regarded  as  an  inconvenient  inspector,  and 
was  but  sparingly  produced  on  public  occasions. 
Hence  arose  ill-humor,  complaints,  and  murmurs. 
The  late  King  sent  him  into  Spain,  where  he  dissipated 
the  remainder  of  his  fortune.  The  merchants  of 
Embden,  and  of  Konigsberg,  requested  the  Spaniards 
would  lower  the  duties  on  I  know  not  what  species 
of  merchandise.  Count  Nostitz  solicited,  negotiated, 
and  presently  wrote  word  "  that  the  new  regulations 
were  wholly  to  the  advantage  of  the  Prussian  sub- 
jects." The  King  ordered  the  Court  of  Spain  to  be 
thanked.  Fortunately,  Count  Finckenstein,  who  had 
not  received  the  regulations,  delayed  sending  the 
thanks.  The  regulations  came,  and  the  Prussian  mer- 
chants were  found  to  be  more  burdened  than  formerly. 
His  Majesty  was  in  a  rage.  Nostitz  was  suddenly 
recalled,  and  arrived  at  Berlin  without  the  fortune 
that  he  had  spent,  destitute  of  the  respect  that  he  had 
lost,  and  deprived  of  all  future  hopes.  Prince  Henry 
welcomed  him  to  his  palace,  an  asylum  open  to  all  mal- 
contents. Here  he  remained  eighteen  months,  and  here 
displayed  himself  in  the  same  manner  that  he  had  done 
everywhere  else — inconsistent  in  his  imaginations,  im- 
moral in  mind,  ungracious  in  manners,  not  capable  of 
writing,  not  willing  to  read,  as  vain  as  a  blockhead,  as 
hot  as  a  turkey  cock,  and  unfit  for  any  kind  of  office, 
because  he  neither  possesses  principles,  seductive  man- 
ners, nor  knowledge.  Such  as  here  depicted,  this  in- 
sipid mortal,  the  true  hero  of  the  Dunciad,  is  in  a  few 
days  to  be  appointed  to  the  Electorate  of  Hanover. 
In  excuse  for  so  capricious  a  choice,  it  is  alleged  that 
he  will  have  nothing  to  do  in  the  place.  But  where- 
fore send  a  man  to  a  place  where  he  has  nothing 
to  do? 

Madame  Rietz,  who  of  all  the  mistresses  of  the 
Sovereign   has   most   effectually    resisted    the    incon- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      303 

stancy  of  men,  and  the  intrigues  of  the  wardrobe,  has 
modestly  demanded  the  margraviate  of  Schwedt  from 
the  King,  to  serve  as  a  place  of  retreat;  and  four  gen- 
tlemen to  travel  with  her  son  as  with  the  son  of  a 
Monarch.  This  audacious  request  has  not  displeased 
the  King,  who  had  been  offended  by  the.  demand  made 
of  an  estate.  He,  no  doubt,  has  discovered  that  he 
is  highly  respected,  now  that  he  receives  propositions 
so  honorable. 

His  former  friends  no  longer  can  obtain  a  minute's 
audience ;  the  gates  to  them  are  gates  of  brass.  But  a 
comedian,  whose  name  is  Marron,  at  present  an  inn- 
keeper at  Verviers,  lately  came  to  solicit  his  protection. 
He  chose  the  moment  when  the  King  was  stepping  into 
his  carriage.  The  King  said  to  him,  "  By  and  by ;  by 
and  by."  Marron  waited;  the  King  returned,  sent 
for  him  into  his  apartments,  spoke  with  him  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  received  his  request,  and  promised  every- 
thing for  which  he  petitioned.  N'ever,  no,  never  will 
subaltern  influence  decline;  footmen  will  be  all-puis- 
sant. Welner  has  publicly  obtained  the  surname  of 
VICEROY,  or  of  PETTY  KING. 

The  Monarch  has  written  to  the  General  of  the  gen- 
darmes (Pritwitz),  noticing  that  several  of  his  offi- 
cers played  at  games  of  chance ;  that  these  games  were 
forbidden;  that  he  should  renew  the  prohibitions  un- 
der pain  of  being  sent  to  the  fortress  for  the  first 
offense,  and  of  being  broken  for  the  second.  The 
information  and  the  threat  were  meant  at  the  General 
himself,  who  has  lost  much  money  with  the  Duke  of 
Mecklenburg. 

It  is  affirmed  that  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  will  be 
here  from  the  eighth  to  the  fifteenth  of  January.  But 
Archimedes  himself  demanded  a  point  of  support,  and 
I  see  none  of  any  kind  at  Berlin.  There  are  numerous 
wishes,  but  not  one  will;  and  the  wishes  themselves 


304      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

are  incoherent,  contradictory,  and  rash;  he  does  not 
know,  nor  will  he  ever  know,  how  to  connect  a  single 
link  in  the  chain :  he  will  more  especially  never  know 
how  to  lop  off  the  parasitical  and  avaricious  sucker. 
Agriculture  is  what  is  most  necessary  to  be  encour- 
aged, particularly  as  soon  as  commercial  oppression 
shall  be  renounced;  though  this  oppression  has  hith- 
erto been  productive  of  gold,  thanks  to  the  situation 
of  the  Prussian  States.  But  how  may  agriculture  be 
encouraged  in  a  country  where  the  half  of  the  peas- 
ants are  attached  to  the  glebe?  For  so  they  are  in 
Pomerania,  Prussia,  and  in  other  parts. 

It  would  be  a  grand  operation  in  the  royal  domains, 
were  they  divided  into  small  farms,  as  has  so  long 
since  been  done  by  the  great  landholders  in  England. 
It  is  a  subject  of  much  greater  importance  than  regu- 
lations of  trade ;  but  there  are  so  many  interested  peo- 
ple to  be  controverted,  and  the  habit  of  servitude  is  so 
rooted,  that  strength  of  understanding,  energy,  and 
consistency,  not  one  grain  of  which  I  can  find  here, 
are  necessary  to  make  the  attempt.  More  knowledge 
likewise  is  requisite  than  will  here  be  found,  for  a 
long  time  to  come,  for  it  to  be  supposed  that  there  is 
no  town,  no  province,  which  would  not  most  gladly 
consent  to  pay  the  King  much  more  than  the  neat 
revenue  he  at  present  obtains,  if  he  would  suffer  the 
inhabitants  to  assess  themselves;  taking  care,  how- 
ever, continually  to  watch  over  the  assessments,  that 
the  magistrates  ancf  nobles  might  not  oppress  the  peo- 
ple; or  for  it  to  be  imagined  that  the  subject  would  not 
gain  three-fourths  of  the  expenses  of  collecting,  and 
would  be  free  of  all  those  unworthy  restraints  which 
are  at  present  imposed  upon  them  by  the  fiscal  treasury. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  recollect  that  it  is  not  here  as 
with  us,  wThere  the  body,  the  mass,  of  national  wealth 
is  so  great,  because  of  the  excellence  of  the  soil  and 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      305 

the  climate,  the  correspondence  between  the  provinces, 
etc.,  etc.,  that  we  may  cut  as  close  as  we  will,  provided 
we  do  not  erect  kilns  to  burn  up  the  grass ;  and  that  in 
France  the  expenses  of  collecting  only  need  be  dimin- 
ished; that  no  other  relief  is  necessary;  nay,  that  we 
may  still  prodigiously  increase  the  load,  provided  that 
load  be  well  poised.  Here,  two  or  three  provinces  at 
the  utmost  excepted,  the  basis  is  so  narrow  and  the 
soil  so  little  fruitful,  so  damp,  so  impoverished,  that 
it  is  only  for  tutelary  authority  to  perform  the  great- 
est part  of  all  which  can  reconcile  Nature  to  this  her 
neglected  offspring.  The  division  of  the  domains  it- 
self, an  operation  so  productive  of  every  kind  of  re- 
source, requires  very  powerful  advances;  for  the  far- 
mer's stock  and  the  implements  of  husbandry  are, 
perhaps,  those  which,  when  wanting,  the  arm  can  least 
supply. 

Independent  of  this  grand  point  of  view,  we  must 
not  forget  THE  MILITARY  POWER,  which  must  here  be 
respected,  for  here  there  are  neither  Alps  nor  Apen- 
nines, rivers  nor  seas,  for  ramparts;  here,  therefore, 
with  six  millions  of  inhabitants,  Government  is  de- 
sirous, and,  to  a  certain  point,  is  obliged,  to  maintain 
two  hundred  thousand  men  in  arms.  In  war  there 
are  no  other  means  than  those  of  courage  or  of  obedi- 
ence, and  obedience  is  an  innate  idea  in  the  SERF  peas-, 
ant;  for  which  reason,  perhaps,  the  grand  force  of 
the  Prussian  army  consists  in  the  union  of  the  feudal 
and  military  systems.  Exclusive  of  that  vast  consid- 
eration, which  I  shall  elsewhere  develop,  let  me  add  it 
will  not  be  sufficient  here  to  act  like  such  or  such  a 
Russian  or  Polish  lord,  and  say,  "  You  are  enfran- 
chised," for  the  serfs  here  will  reply,  "  We  are  very 
much  obliged  to  you  for  your  enfranchisement,  but  we 
do  not  choose  to  be  free  " ;  or  even  to  bestow  land 
gratuitously  on  them,  for  they  will  answer,  "  What 


306      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

would  you  have  us  do  with  lands  ?  "  Proprietors  and 
property  can  only  be  erected  by  making  advances,  and 
advances  are  expensive;  and,  as  there  are  so  few  gov- 
ernments which  have  the  wisdom  to  sow  in  order  that 
they  may  reap,  this  will  not  be  the  first  to  begin.  It 
is  little  probable  that  the  morning  of  wholesome  poli- 
tics should  first  break  upon  this  country. 

At  present  it  is  almost  publicly  known  that  the 
Comte  d'Esterno  is  to  depart  in  the  month  of  April 
for  France.  I  shall  submit  it  to  your  delicacy,  and  to 
your  justice,  to  pronounce  whether  I  can  remain  here 
the  overseer  of  a  charge  d'affaires.  During  his  ab- 
sence, functions  might  be  bestowed  on  me ;  here  I  cer- 
tainly would  not  remain  under  an  envoy  per  interim; 
nor  would  this  require  more  than  the  simple  precau- 
tion of  sending  me  secret  credentials.  But,  as  no  such 
thing  will  be  done,  you  will  perceive  that  this  is  a  new 
and  very  strong  reason  for  my  departure  about  that 
time.  Those  who  would  make  me  nothing  more  than 
a  gazetteer  are  ill-acquainted  with  mankind;  and  still 
more  so  those  who  hope  to  oblige  me  to  consent  tacitly 
or  perforce. 

POSTSCRIPT — The  Count  de  Masanne,  a  fervent 
mystic,  is  the  grand  master  of  the  Queen's  household. 
Welner  supped  with  her  yesterday,  and  had  the  place 
of  honor;  that  is  to  say,  he  sat  opposite  her.  If  he 
cede  to  wishes  of  such  indecent  vanity,  he  will  pres- 
ently be  undone. 


LETTER  LX 

December  30th,    1786. 

YESTERDAY  was  a  memorable  moment  for  the  man  of 
observation.      Count   Bruhl,  a  Catholic,  a   foreigner, 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       307 

assuming  his  rank  in  the  Prussian  army,  was  installed 
in  his  place  as  Governor,  and  the  capitation  tax  was 
intimated.  This  capitation,  so  openly  contemned,  sup- 
ported with  so  much  obstinacy,  demonstrated  to  be 
vicious  in  its  principle,  impossible  of  execution,  and 
barren  in  product,  at  once  announces  the  disgraceful 
inanity  of  the  General  Directory,  by  which  it  was 
loudly  opposed,  and  the  sovereign  influence  of  the 
subaltern  by  whom  its  chiefs  have  been  resisted.  How 
can  we  suppose  the  King  has  been  deceived  respecting 
the  public  opinion  of  an  operation  so  universally  con- 
demned? How  may  he  be  excused,  since  his  Minis- 
ters themselves  have  informed  him  that  he  was  in 
clanger  of,  perhaps  forever,  casting  from  him,  at  the 
very  commencement  of  his  reign,  the  title  of  well- 
beloved,  of  which  he  was  so  ambitious?  Here  we  at 
least  behold  the  ambiguous  morning  of  a  cloudy 
reign. 

The  Queen  is  not  satisfied  with  the  choice  that  has 
been  made  of  Count  Briihl,  neither  is  she  with  the 
regulations  of  her  household,  and  therefore  she  is 
again  contracting  debts.  She  is  allowed,  for  expenses 
of  every  kind,  only  fifty-one  thousand  crowns  per 
annum.  It  will  be  difficult  for  her  to  make  this  sum 
supply  her  real  wants,  her  generous  propensities,  and 
her  numerous  caprices.  Blind  to  the  amours  of  the 
King,  she  can  see  the  disorder  of  his  domestic  affairs. 
The  day  before  yesterday  there  was  no  wood  for  the 
fires  of  her  apartments.  Her  house  steward  entreated 
the  steward  of  the  royal  palace  to  lend  him  his  assist- 
ance. The  latter  excused  himself  because  of  the  small- 
ness  of  his  remaining  stock.  How,  you  will  ask,  can 
disorder  so  indecent  happen?  Because  the  quantity 
consumed  was  regulated  by  the  late  King  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  Queen  and  her  children  resided  at 
Potsdam.  Since  his  death  no  person  has  thought  of 


308       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

the  necessary  addition.  Such  incidents,  trifling  as 
they  are  in  themselves,  prove  to  what  excess  careless- 
ness and  the  defects  of  inconsistency  are  carried. 

Count  Briihl  was  waited  for  in  order  to  furnish  the 
house  of  the  Princes.  As  he  is  overwhelmed  by  debts, 
and  is  a  Saxon  nobleman  ruined,  it  was  requisite  the 
King  should  cause  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  crowns 
to  be  paid  at  Dresden,  to  satisfy  the  most  impatient 
of  his  creditors.  Opinions  concerning  him  are  divided. 

The  only  points  on  which  people  are  unanimous  are, 
that  he  is  one  of  the  flock  of  the  elect  (the  mystics), 
and  that  he  plays  exceedingly  well  on  the  violin. 
Those  who  have  been  acquainted  with  him  fifteen 
years  ago  speak  in  raptures  of  his  amenity.  Those 
whose  knowledge  of  him  is  more  recent  are  silent. 
Those  who  are  totally  unacquainted  with  him  say  he 
is  the  most  amiable  of  men.  His  pupil  smiles  when 
he  is  praised.  It  is  affirmed  that  the  Grand  Duke  has 
sent  him  here,  and  that  it  is  his  intention  to  take  him 
to  himself  whenever  he  shall  have  the  power. 

The  Prince  Royal  will  soon  be  worthy  the  trouble 
of  observation ;  not  merely  because  Frederick  II.  drew 
his  horoscope  in  the  following  terms — "  I  shall  reign 
again  in  him,"  for  perhaps  he  only  meant  by  that  to 
testify  his  contempt  for  the  present  King;  but  because 
all  things  in  him  proclaim  greatness,  but  ungracious- 
ness of  character ;  awkwardness,  but  a  speaking  coun- 
tenance ;  unpolished,  but  sincere.  He  asks  the  where- 
fore of  everything,  nor  will  he  ever  be  satisfied  with 
a  reply  that  is  not  reasonable.  He  is  severe  and  tena- 
cious, even  to  ferocity,  and  yet  is  not  incapable  of 
affection  and  sensibility.  He  already  knows  how  to 
esteem  and  contemn.  His  disdain  of  his  father  ap- 
proaches hatred,  which  he  is  not  very  careful  to  con- 
ceal. His  veneration  of  the  late  King  partakes  of 
idolatry,  and  this  he  proclaims.  Perhaps  the  youth 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      309 

is  destined  to  great  actions;  and,  should  he  become 
the  engine  of  some  memorable  revolution,  men  who 
can  see  to  a  distance  will  not  be  surprised. 

Launay  at  length  departs;  and,  as  I  believe,  solely 
from  the  fear  which  the  Ministry,  or  rather  which 
Welner,  has  that  the  King  should,  in  some  weary  or 
embarrassed  moment,  restore  him  to  his  place.  Jlis 
dismission  has  been  granted  to  him  only  on  condition 
that  he  would  give  up  twenty-five  thousand  crowns  of 
arrears,  which  are  his  due.  This  is  a  shameful  piece 
of  knavery.  They  have  exacted  an  oath  from  him 
that  he  will  not  carry  off  any  papers  that  relate  to  the 
State.  This  is  pitiable  weakness.  For  of  what  valid- 
ity is  such  an  oath  ?  He  may  afford  you  some  useful, 
or  rather  curious,  annotations.  In  other  respects,  the 
man  is  nothing,  less  than  nothing.  He  does  not  so 
much  as  suspect  the  elements  of  his  own  trade.  His 
speech  is  perplexed,  his  ideas  are  confused;  in  a  word, 
he  could  only  act  a  great  part  in  a  country  where  he 
had  neither  judges  nor  rivals.  But  he  is  not,  as  he  is 
accused  of  being,  a  malicious  person.  He  is  a  very 
weak  and  a  very  vain  man,  and  nothing  more.  He 
has  acted  the  part  of  an  executioner,  no  doubt;  but 
where  is  the  financier  who  has  not?  Where  would 
be  the  justice  of  demanding  the  hangman  to  be  racked 
because  of  the  tortures  he  had  inflicted  in  pursuance 
of  the  sentence  which  the  judge  had  pronounced? 

fie  will  predict  deficiencies  in  the  revenue,  and  in 
this  he  will  not  be  wrong;  but  he  perhaps  will  not  in- 
form you,  although  it  is  exceedingly  true,  that  econom- 
ical principles,  which  are  the  guardians  of  this  coun- 
try, are  already  very  sensibly  on  the  decline.  The 
service  is  more  expensive,  the  houses  of  princes  more 
numerous,  the  stables  are  better  filled,  pensions  are 
multiplied,  arrangements  more  costly,  salaries  of  am- 
bassadors almost  doubled,  the  manners  more  elegant, 


3io      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

etc.  The  greatest  part  of  these  expenses  was  neces- 
sary. The  real  misfortune  is  that  there  is  no  care 
taken  for  the  proportionate  increase  of  the  revenue 
by  slow,  but  certainly  productive,  means ;  and  that  they 
seem  not  to  suppose  there  will  be  any  deficiency,  which 
will  at  length  make  an  immense  error  in  the  sum  total ; 
so  that,  without  war,  a  long  reign  may  see  the  end  of 
the  Treasury,  should  the  present  measures  be  pursued. 
It  is  not  the  prodigality  of  pomp  which  excites  mur- 
murs. It  is  a  prodigality  in  contrast  to  the  personal 
avarice  of  the  King  which  is  to  be  dreaded.  It  is  an 
insensible,  but  a  continual  wasting.  Hitherto  the  evil 
is  inconsiderable,  and,  no  doubt,  does  not  strike  any 
person;  but  I  begin  to  understand  the  country  in  the 
whole,  and  I  perceive  these  things  more  distinctly 
than  I  can  describe. 

It  was  a  custom  with  the  late  King,  every  year,  on 
the  twenty-fourth  of  December,  to  make  presents  to 
his  brothers  and  sisters,  the  whole  sum  of  which 
amounted  to  about  twenty  thousand  crowns.  This 
custom  the  nephew  has  suppressed.  A  habitude  of 
forty  years  had  led  the  uncles  to  consider  these  gratu- 
ities as  a  part  of  their  income ;  nor  did  they  expect  that 
they  should  have  SET  the  first  examples,  or  rather  have 
BEEN  MADE  the  first  examples,  of  economy.  Faithful 
to  his  peculiar  mode  of  making  presents,  the  King  has 
gratified  the  Duke  of  Courland  with  a  yellow  ribbon. 
It  would  be  difficult  more  unworthily  to  prostitute  his 
Order. 

To  this  sordidness  of  metal,  and  this  debauchery  of 
moral,  coin,  examples  of  easy  prodigality  may  be  op- 
posed. The  house  of  the  Jew  Ephraim  had  paid  two 
hundred  thousand  crowns,  on  account,  for  the  late 
King,  at  Constantinople,  during  the  Seven  Years' 
War.  The  money  was  intended  to  corrupt  some  Turks, 
but  the  project  failed.  Frederick  II.  continually  de- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      311 

layed  the  repayment  of  the  sum.  His  successor  yester- 
day reimbursed  the  heirs  of  Ephraim. 

A  saddler  who  had  thirty  years  been  the  creditor  of 
the  late  King,  who  never  would  pay  the  debts  he  had 
contracted  while  Prince  Royal,  demanded  the  sum  of 
three  thousand  crowns  from  his  present  Majesty.  The 
King  wrote  at  the  bottom  of  the  petition :  "  Pay  the 
bill  at  sight,  with  interest  at  six  per  cent." 

The  Duke  of  Holsteinbeck  is  at  length  to  go  to 
Konigsberg,  to  take  command  of  a  battalion  of  grena- 
diers. I  have  elsewhere  depicted  this  insignificant 
Prince,  who  will  be  a  boy  at  sixty,  and  who  will  nei- 
ther do  harm  to  the  enemies  of  the  State  nor  good 
to  his  private  friends.- 


LETTER   LXI 

January    1st,    1787. 

THE  King  has  lately  bestowed  his  Order  on  four  of 
his  subjects.  The  one  is  the  keeper  of  his  treasury 
(M.  von  Blumenthal),  a  faithful  but  a  dull  Minister. 
The  second  is  the  master  of  his  horse,  M.  von  Schwer- 
in,  a  silly  buffoon  under  the  late  King,  a  cipher  during 
his  whole  life,  a  perplexed  blockhead,  and  on  whom 
the  first  experiment  that  was  made,  after  the  accession, 
was  to  deprive  him  of  his  place.  The  third  is  his 
Majesty's  Governor,  a  man  of  eighty,  who  has  been 
kept  at  a  distance  for  these  eighteen  years  past,  and 
who  is  destitute  of  talents,  service,  dignity,  and  esteem 
for  his  pupil,  which  perhaps  is  the  first  mark  of  good 
sense  he  ever  betrayed.  The  last  who  is  not  yet  named, 
is  Count  Briihl,  who  is  thus  rewarded  by  titles,  after 
receiving  the  most  effective  gratifications  before  he 
has  exercised  any  office.  What  a  prostitution  of  hon- 
ors! I  say  what  a  prostitution;  for  the  prodigality 


312      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

with  which  they  are  bestowed  is  itself  prostitution. 

Among  others  who  have  received  favors,  a  mystic 
priest  is  distinguished, — a  preacher  of  effrontery,  who 
reposes  on  the  couch  of  gratifications,  at  the  expense 
of  two  thousand  crowns.  To  him  add  Baron  Boden, 
driven  from  Hesse  Cassel,  a  spy  of  the  police  at  Paris, 
known  at  Berlin  to  be  a  thief,  a  pickpocket,  a  forger, 
capable  of  everything  except  that  which  is  honest,  and 
of  whom  the  King  himself  said  he  is  a  rascal,  yet  on 
whom  he  has  bestowed  a  chamberlain's  key.  Pen- 
sions innumerable  have  been  granted  to  obscure  or 
infamous  courtiers.  The  Academicians,  Welner,  and 
Moulines,  are  appointed  directors  of  the  finances  of 
the  Academy. 

All  these  favors  announce  a  Prince  without  judg- 
ment, without  delicacy,  without  esteem  either  for  him- 
self or  his  favors;  reckless  of  his  own  fame,  or  of 
the  opinion  of  the  public;  and  as  proper  to  discourage 
those  who  possess  some  capacity  as  to  embolden  such 
as  are  natively  nothing,  or  worse  than  nothing. 

The  contempt  of  the  people  is  the  merited  salary  of 
so  many  good  works ;  and  this  contempt  is  daily  more 
pointed;  the  stupor  by  which  it  was  preceded 'is  now 
no  more.  The  world  was  at  first  astonished  to  see  the 
King  faithful  to  his  comedy,  faithful  to  his  concert, 
faithful  to  his  old  mistress,  faithful  to  his  new  one, 
finding  time  to  examine  engravings,  furniture,  the 
shops  of  tradesmen,  to  play  on  the  violoncello,  to  in- 
quire into  the  tricks  of  the  ladies  of  the  palace,  and 
seeking  for  moments  to  attend  to  ministers,  who  de- 
bate in  his  hearing  on  the  interests  of  the  State.  But 
at  present  astonishment  is  incited  if  some  new  folly 
or  some  habitual  sin  has  not  consumed  one  of  his  days. 

The  new  uniforms  invented  by  his  Majesty  have 
this  day  made  their  appearance.  This  military  bauble, 
prepared  for  the  day  on  which  men  have  the  ridiculous 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      313 

custom  of  making  a  show  of  themselves,  confirms  the 
opinion  that  the  sovereign  who  attaches  so  much  im- 
portance to  such  a  circumstance  possesses  that  kind 
of  understanding  which  induces  him  to  believe  thpt 
parading  is  a  thing  of  consequence. 

Is  his  heart  better  than  his  understanding?  Of  this 
men  begin  to  doubt. 

Count  Alexander  Wartensleben,  a  former  favorite 
of  the  present  King,  who  was  imprisoned  at  Spandau 
for  his  fidelity  to  him,  being  sent  for  from  the  farther 
part  of  Prussia  to  Berlin,  to  command  the  guards,  has 
lately  been  placed  at  the  head  of  a  Brandenburg  regi- 
ment ;  and  by  this  arrangement  he  loses  a  pension  of  a 
hundred  guineas,  which  was  granted  him  by  the  King 
while  Prince  Royal.  This  frank  and  honest  officer 
is  a  stranger  to  the  sect  in  favor;  and,  after  having 
languished  in  a  kind  of  forget  fulness,  finally  receives 
a  treatment  which  neither  can  be  called  disgrace  nor 
reward.  This  is  generally  considered  as  a  deplorable 
proof  that  the  King,  to  say  the  least,  neither  knows 
how  to  love  nor  hate. 

Mademoiselle  Voss  has  been  persuaded  that  it  would 
be  more  generous  in  her 'to  prevent  her  lover  commit- 
ting a  folly  than  to  profit  by  such  folly ;  for  thus  is  the 
marriage  publicly  called,  which  would  have  become  a 
subject  of  eternal  reproach  whenever  the  intoxication 
of  passion  should  have  slumbered.  The  beauty,  there- 
fore, will  be  made  a  countess,  become  rich,  and  perhaps 
the  sovereign  of  the  will  of  the  Sovereign,  but  not 
his  spouse.  Her  influence  may  be  productive  of  great 
changes,  and  in  other  countries  might  render  Count 
Schulemburg,  the  son-in-law  of  Count  Finckenstein, 
first  Minister.  He  has  acted  very  wisely  in  attaching 
Struensee  to  himself,  who  teaches  him  his  trade  with 
so  much  perspicuity  that  the  Count  imagines  his  trade 
is  learned.  He  has  besides  an  exercised  understand- 


314      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

ing,  and  an  aptitude  to  industry,  order,  consistency, 
and  energy.  Aided  by  his  tutor,  he  will  find  no  diffi- 
culties too  great ;  and  he  is  the  man  necessary  for  this 
King,  whose  will  is  feeble  and  cowardly.  The  late 
King  was  equally  averse  to  men  of  many  difficulties, 
but  it  was  from  a  conviction  of  his  own  superiority. 
Great  talents,  however,  are  little  necessary  to  reign 
over  your  men  of  Topinamboo. 

The  memorial  against  the  capitation  tax,  which  has 
been  signed  by  Messieurs  Hertzberg,  Heinitz,  Arnim, 
and  Schulemburg,  concludes  with  these  words :  "  This 
operation,  which  alarms  all  classes  of  Your  Majesty's 
subjects,  effaces  in  their  hearts  the  epithet  of  WELL- 
BELOVED,  and  freezes  the  fortitude  of  those  whom  you 
have  appointed  to  your  Council."  Struensee,  on  his 
part,  has  sent  in  two  pages  of  figures,  which  demon- 
strate the  miscalculations  that  will  infallibly  be  dis- 
covered when  the  tax  has  been  collected.  Messieurs 
Werder,  Gaudi,  and  probably  Welner,  persist;  and 
the  King,  who  neither  has  the  power  to  resist  a  plur- 
ality of  voices,  nor  that  of  receding,  dares  not  yet 
decide. 

On  the  1 5th  of  February,  he  is  to  depart  for  Pots- 
dam, where  he  proposes  to  continue  the  remainder  of 
the  year;  that  period  excepted  when  he  journeys  into 
Silesia  and  Prussia. 

POSTSCRIPT — Evening. — The  King  has  to-day  ad- 
vanced the  Duke  of  Brunswick  to  the  rank  of  field 
marshal.  This  is  indubitably  the  first  honorable  choice 
he  has  made ;  and  everybody  approves  his  having 
singly  promoted  this  Prince. 

January  20". 

The  Dutch  envoy  has  thrown  me  into  a  state  of 
great  embarrassment,  and  into  astonishment  not  less 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      315 

great.  He  has  asked  me,  in  explicit  terms,  whether 
I  consented  that  endeavors  should  be  made  to  procure 
me  credentials  to  treat  with  the  Princess  of  Orange,  at 
Nimeguen.  If  deception  might  be  productive  of  any- 
thing, I  should  have  imagined  he  only  wished  to  in- 
duce me  to  speak;  but  the  question  was  accompanied 
with  so  many  circumstances,  all  true  and  sincere,  so 
many  confidential  communications  of  every  kind,  and 
a  series  of  anecdotes  so  rational  and  so  decisive,  that, 
though  I  might  find  it  difficult  to  account  for  the  whim 
he  had  taken,  I  could  not  possibly  doubt  of  the  candor 
of  the  envoy.  After  this  first  consideration,  I  hesi- 
tated whether  I  should  mention  the  affair  to  you,  from 
a  fear  that  the  presumption  should  be  imputed  to  me 
of  endeavoring  to  rival  M.  de  Renneval;  but,  besides 
that  my  cipher  will  pass  under  the  inspection  of  my 
prudent  friend,  before  it  will  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  King  or  his  Ministers,  and  that  I  shall  thus  be 
certain  he  will  erase  whatever  might  injure  me  to  no 
purpose,  I  have  imagined  it  was  not  a  part  of  my 
duty  to  pass  over  a  proposition  of  so  singular  a  kind 
in  silence.  I  ought  to  add  further,  referring  to  the 
ample  details  which  I  shall  give,  after  the  long  con- 
ference which  I  am  to  have  with  him  to-morrow  morn- 
ing, that,  if  France  has  no  latent  intention,  and  means 
only  to  weaken  the  Stadtholder,  in  such  a  manner  as 
that  his  influence  cannot  hereafter  be  of  service  to  the 
English,  the  patriots  are  by  no  means  so  simple  in  their 
intentions.  I  have  proofs  that,  from  the  year  1784 
to  the  end  of  1785,  they  were  in  secret  correspondence 
with  Baron  Reede;  and  that  they  ceased  precisely  at 
the  moment  when  the  Baron  wrote  to  them :  "  Make 
your  proposals ;  I  have  a  carte  blanche  from  the  Prin- 
cess, and,  on  this  condition,  the  King  of  Prussia  will 
answer  for  the  Prince."  I  have  also  proofs  that  M. 
de  Renneval  cannot  succeed,  and  that  the  affair  will 


316      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

never  be  brought  to  a  conclusion,  "  so  long  as  nego- 
tiation shall  be  continued  instead  of  arbitration." 
These  are  his  words,  and  they  appear  to  me  remark- 
able. It  is  equally  evident  that  the  implacable  ven- 
geance of  the  Due  de  la  Vauguyon  arises  from  his  hav- 
ing dared  to  make  love  to  the  Princess,  and  his  love 
having  been  rejected.  I  shall  leave  those  who  are  able 
to  judge  of  the  veracity  of  these  allegations;  but  it  is 
my  duty  to  repeat  verbally  the  following  phrase  of 
Baron  Reede :  "  M.  de  Calonne  is  inimical  to  us,  and 
his  enemy  opefis  his  arms  to  receive  us.  What  is  it 
that  M.  de  Calonne  wishes?  Is  it  to  be  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs?  A  successful  pacification  of  the 
troubles  of  Holland  would  render  him  more  service, 
in  such  case,  than  the  continuation  of  those  troubles, 
which  may  kindle  a  general  conflagration.  I  demand 
a  categorical  answer  to  the  following  question :  Should 
it  be  proved  to  M.  de  Calonne  that  the  Stadtholder  is 
in  reality  come  over  to  the  side  of  France,  or,  which 
is  the  same  thing,  if  he  shall  be  obliged  to  come  over, 
will  he  then  be  against  us?  Has  he  any  private  inter- 
est which  we  counteract?  Is  it  impossible  he  should 
explain  himself?  The  chances  certainly  are  all  in  his 
favor  against  M.  de  Breteuil,  whom  we  have  continu- 
ally hated  and  despised.  Wherefore  will  he  spoil  his 
own  game." 

I  necessarily  answered  these  questions  in  terms  rath- 
er vague.  I  informed  him  that  M.  de  Calonne,  in 
what  related  to  foreign  affairs,  continually  pursued 
the  line  marked  out  by  M.  de  Vergennes ;  that  the  for- 
mer, far  from  coveting  the  place  of  the  latter,  would 
support  him  with  all  his  power,  if,  which  could  not 
happen,  he  had  need  of  his  support ;  that  a  comptroller- 
general  never  could  be  desirous  of  anything  but  peace 
and  political  tranquillity;  that  whether  M.  de  Calonne 
had  or  had  not  particular  agents  in  Holland,  was  a 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      317 

fact  of  which  I  was  ignorant  (this  Baron  Reede  posi- 
tively assured  me  was  the  case,  and  probably  was  the 
reason  of  his  afterward  conceiving  the  idea  of  making- 
me  their  substitute)  ;  but  that  he  would  suppose  rrt 
a  madman,  should  I  speak  to  him  of  such  a  thing;  and 
therefore  if,  as  seemed  very  improbable,  it  were  true 
that  the  Princess  of  Orange,  on  the  recommendation 
of  Baron  Reede,  should  be  capable  of  placing  any  con- 
fidence in  me,  it  was  necessary  she  should  give  this 
to  be  understood,  through  some  medium  with  which 
I  should  be  unacquainted,  as,  for  example,  by  the  way 
of  Prussia;  but  it  scarcely  could  be  supposed  that 
there  would  be  any  wish  of  substituting  a  person  un- 
known in  that  walk  to  those  who  were  already  in  the 
highest  repute. 

Baron  Reede  persisted,  and  further  added,  not  to 
mention  that  M.  de  Renneval  could  not  long  remain  in 
his  station,  the  parties  \vould  undoubtedly  come  to  a 
better  understanding  when  the  Princess  could  speak 
with  confidence ;  that  confidence  was  a  sensation  which 
she  never  could  feel  for  this  negotiator.  In  fine,  he 
demanded,  under  the  seal  of  profound  secrecy,  a  con- 
ference with  me,  which  I  did  not  think  it  would  be 
right  to  refuse;  and  his  whole  conversation  perfectly 
demonstrated  two  things :  the  first,  that  his  party  sup- 
poses M.  de  Calonne  is  totally  their  enemy,  and  that 
he  is  the  Minister  of  influence  in  this  political  conflict; 
and  the  second,  that  they  believed  him  to  be  deceived. 
I  am  the  more  persuaded  these  suppositions  are  true, 
because  he  very  strongly  insisted  even  should  I  not 
receive  any  orders  to  repair  to  Holland,  I  should  pass 
through  Nimeguen,  on  my  return  to  Paris;  that,  by 
the  aid  of  the  pledges  of  confidence  which  I  should 
receive  from  him,  I  might  sufficiently  penetrate  the 
thoughts  of  the  Princess,  so  as  to  be  able  to  render 
M.  de  Calonne  a  true  report  of  the  situation  of  affairs, 


318      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

and  what  might  be  the  basis  of  a  sincere  and  stable 
conciliation.  It  is  not,  therefore,  so  much  another 
person,  instead  of  M.  de  Renneval,  that  they  desire, 
as  another  Couette  Toury,  or  some  particular  confi- 
dant of  M.  de  Calonne.  I  shall  conclude  with  two 
remarks  that  are  perhaps  important. 

1.  My  sentiments  and  principles  concerning-  liberty 
are  so  known  that  I  cannot  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
Orange  party.     There  is,  therefore  a  real  desire  of 
accommodation  at   Nimeguen.     And   would  not  the 
success  of  this  accommodation  be  of  greater  conse- 
quence to  M.   de  Calonne  than  the  machinations  of 
M.   de   Breteuil?     Wherefore   will   he  not   have   the 
merit  of  the  pacification,  if  it  be  necessary?    And  is  it 
not  in  a  certain  degree  necessary,  in  the  present  polit- 
ical state  of  Europe? 

2.  The  province  of  Friseland  has  ever  been  of  the 
Anti-Stadtholder  party,  and  it  now  begins  to  be  on 
better  terms  with  the  Prince.     Is  it  not  because  there 
has  been  the  ill  address  of  attacking  the  Stadtholder 
in  some  part  hostile  to  the  provinces,  and  in  which 
neither  the  nobility  nor  the  regencies  do,  or  can,  wish 
to  see  the  constitution  absolutely  overthrown?     Has 
not  the  province  of   Holland   drawn  others  too   far 
into  its  particular  measures? 

These  two  considerations,  which  I  can  support  by  a 
number  of  corroborating  circumstances,  perhaps  are 
worthy  the  trouble  of  being  weighed.  I  shall  send 
you,  by  the  next  courier,  the  result  of  our  conference; 
but,  if  there  are  any  orders,  information  or  directions, 
to  be  given  me  on  the  subject,  it  is  necessary  not  to 
leave  me  in  suspense;  for  my  situation  relative  to 
Reede  is  embarrassing,  since  I  dare  neither  to  repel 
nor  invite  advances,  which  most  assuredly  I  never 
shall  provoke,  and  which,  by  the  well-avowed  state  of 
the  Cabinet  of  Potsdam,  it  was  even  impossible  I 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      319 

should  provoke,  had  I  been  possessed  of  so  much 
temerity. 

Nolde  has  already  written  several  letters  to  me 
from  Courland,  and  mentions  an  important  dispatch 
in  cipher,  which  is  to  be  sent  by  the  next  courier.  But 
the  evident  result  is  that  it  is  too  late  to  save  Cour- 
land ;  that  everything  which  ought  to  have  been  pre- 
vented is  done,  or  as  good  as  done,  and  that  the  best 
physicians  would  but  lose  their  time  in  prescribing 
for  the  incurable.  The  bearer  of  the  letter,  which  oc- 
casioned the  departure  of  Nolde  is  a  merchant  of 
Liebau,  named  Immermann.  He  has  been  charged 
with  the  negotiation  of  a  loan  in  Holland  and  else- 
where, but,  as  it  is  said,  has  met  with  no  success.  It 
is  supposed  in  the  country  that  the  Duke  has  thrown 
impediments  in  its  way.  The  Diet  of  Courland  is  to 
sit  in  January.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that,  for  two 
years  past,  no  delegate  has  been  sent  from  Courland 
to  Warsaw. 

Good  information  is  said  to  be  received  that  four 
corps  of  Russian  troops  have  begun  their  march,  pur- 
posely to  approach  the  Crimea  at  the  time  that  the 
Empress  shall  be  there;  and  this  not  so  much  to  in- 
spire the  Turks  with  fear,  as  to  remove  the  greatest 
and  most  formidable  part  of  the  military  from  the 
vicinage  of  Petersburg  and  the  northern  provinces  of 
Russia;  and  especially  from  the  Grand  Duke,  that 
there  may  not  be  any  possibility  of  dangerous  or  vexa- 
tious events;  for  the  unbounded  love  of  the  Russians 
for  their  Grand  Duke  is  apprehended.  Yet,  if  such 
terrors  are  felt,  wherefore  undertake  so  useless  a  jour- 
ney, which  will  cost  from  seven  to  eight  millions  of 
rubles  ?  So  useless,  I  say,  according  to  your  opinions, 
for,  according  to  mine,  the  Empress  believes  she  is 
going  to  Constantinople,  or  she  does  not  intend  to 
depart. 


320      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS   OF 

The  troops  are  to  be  divided  into  four  corps,  of 
forty  thousand  men  each.  The  General  of  these  ar- 
mies will  be  Field-Marshal  Potemkin,  who  will  have 
the  immediaate  command  of  a  corps  of  forty  thousand 
men,  and  the  superintendence  of  the  others  who  are 
under  him,  to  be  led  by  General  Elvut,  Michaelssohn, 
and  Soltikow.  Prince  Potemkin  has  under  his  par- 
ticular and  independent  orders  sixty  thousand  irregu- 
lar troops  in  the  Crimea.  It  is  whispered  he  enter- 
tains the  project  of  making  himself  King  of  the 
country,  and  of  a  good  part  of  the  Ukraine. 


LETTER  LXII 

January '4th,   1787. 

MY  CONFERENCE  with  Baron  Reede  is  over.  It  con- 
tinued three  hours  and  a  half,  and  I  have  not  the 
smallest  remaining  doubt  concerning  his  intentions, 
after  the  confidence  with  which  he  spoke  and  the 
writings  he  showed  me.  He  appears  to  be  a  good  citi- 
zen, a  constitutionalist  by  principle,  a  friend  of  liberty 
by  instinct,  loyal  and  true  from  character  and  habit, 
and  rather  the  servant  of  the  Princess  of  Orange  from 
personal  affection  than  from  the  place  he  holds  under 
her  husband;  a  person  desirous  of  ending  tumultuous 
and  disquieting  debates,  because  in  pacification  he  con- 
templates the  good  of  his  country,  and  that  of  the 
Princess,  whose  confidence  he  possesses.  He  is,  fur- 
ther, a  Minister  of  passable  talents,  who  has  abstained 
from  making  advances  so  long  as  he  presumed  our 
political  management  of  the  Court  of  Prussia  would 
greatly  influence  its  intervention,  and  that  he  might 
prevail  on  that  Court  to  speak  firmly.  At  present, 
feeling  that  the  respect  in  which  the  Cabinet  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      321 

Berlin  was  held  is  on  the  decline,  and  especially  per- 
ceiving the  King  is  disinterested  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Stadtholder,  because  he  has  no  interest  in  any- 
thing, he  knocks  immediately  at  the  door  of  recon- 
ciliation. 
.  You  may  hold  the  following  as  probabilities : 

1.  That  the  Princess,  who  will  finally  decide  what 
the  catastrophe  is  to  be,  at  least  in  a  very  great  meas- 
ure, is,  to  a  certain  point,  desirous  of  accommodation, 
and  to  throw  herself  into  the  arms  of  France,  because, 
in  fine,  she  dreads  risking  a  stake  too  great,  to  the 
injury  of  her  family. 

2.  That  she  imagines  M.  de  Calonne  to  be  the  Min- 
ister who  influences  the  mind  of  the  King,  and  the 
personal  enemy  of  her  house. 

3.  That   successful    attempts   have   been   made   to 
inspire  her  with  very  strong  prejudices  against  his 
sincerity. 

4.  That  still  she  seeks  his  friendship,  and  is  desir- 
ous of  a  correspondence  with  him,  either  direct  or 
indirect ;  and  of  an  impartial  trusty  friend  in  Holland, 
who  should  possess  her  confidence. 

5.  That  not  only  nothing  is  more  possible  than  to 
retouch  the  regulations,   without  some  modifications 
in  which  the  influence  of  the  Stadtholder  cannot  be 
repressed,  but  that  this  is  what  they  expect,  secretly 
convinced  of  its  justice,  and  politically  of  its  necessity; 
and  that  Baron  Reede,  as  a  citizen,  and  one  of  the 
first  of  the  first  rank,  would  be  much  vexed  were  they 
not  retouched. 

The  reason  of  the  sincere  return  of  the  Princess  of 
Orange,  who  indeed  was  never  entirely  alienated,  is 
that  she  seriously  despairs  of  being  efficaciously  served 
at  Berlin. 

That  of  her  opinion  of  the  enmity  of  M.  de  Calonne 
is  solely  founded  on  his  intimate  connection  with  the 


322      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Rhingrave  of  Salm,  which  the  latter  exaggerates; 

and  the  inconsiderable  discourse  of  M.  de  C , 

which  really  surpasses  all  imagination,  and  who  is 
supposed  to  be  the  particular  intimate  of  the  Min- 
ister. 

Her  prejudices  against  M.  de  Calonne  arise,  in  a 
great  part,  from  the  calumny  spread  by  one  Vander- 
mey,  who  had  formed  I  know  not  what  enterprise  on 
Bergue-Saint-Vinox  (while  this  Minister  was  inten- 
dant  of  the  province),  in  which  he  failed  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  cost  the  Stadtholder  more  than  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty  thousand  florins;  and,  that  he  might 
excuse  himself,  he  threw  the  whole  blame  on  the 
opposition  made  by  M.  de  Calonne.  Add  further,  that 
all  these  causes  of  discontent,  suspicion,  and  animos- 
ity are  still  kept  in  fermentation  by  a  M.  de  Portail, 
the  creature  of  M.  de  Breteuil,  the  which  M.  de  Por- 
tail equally  blames  M.  de  Veyrac,  M.  de  C ,  the 

Rhingrave  of  Salm,  M.  de  Renneval,  the  Comte  de 
Vergennes,  and  all  that  has  been  done,  all  that  is  done, 
and  all  that  shall  be  done;  but  especially  M.  de 
Calonne,  whom  he  depicts  as  the  incendiary  of  the 
Seven  Provinces,  which,  with  all  Europe  besides,  can- 
not be  saved  but  by  the  meekness  of  M.  de  Breteuil, 
the  gentle,  the  polished,  the  pacificator. 

With  respect  to  the  desire  of  the  Princess  to  be  on 
better  terms  with  M.  de  Calonne,  it  is,  I  think,  evident. 
Baron  Reede  is  too  circumspect  and  too  artful  to  have 
taken  such  a  step  with  me  had  he  not  been  authorized. 
What  follows  will,  perhaps,  give  you  the  genealogy  of 
his  ideas,  which  may  sufficiently  explain  the  whole  epi- 
sode. He  could  easily  know  that  I  wrote  in  cipher. 
He  is  the  intimate  friend  of  Hertzberg.  And  for 
whom  do  I  cipher?  Whoever  is  acquainted  with  the 
coast  and  the  progress  of  our  affairs  must  know  it  can 
only  be  for  M.  de  Calonne.  On  what  principle  do  I 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      323 

act?  The  Duke  of  Brunswick,  who  has  had  many 
conferences  with  him,  cannot  have  left  him  in  igno- 
rance that  my  views  on  this  subject  were  all  for  peace. 
Having  been  totally  disappointed  through  the  igno- 
rance of  Comte  d'Esterno,  which  he  affirms  is  complete 
in  this  respect,  and  which  must,  therefore,  on  this  sub- 
ject, redouble  the  native  surliness  of  the  Count;  and 

by  the  stupidity  of  F •-,  who  painfully  comes  to 

study  his  lesson  with  him,  and  returning  does  not 
always  repeat  it  faithfully;  well  convinced  that  the 
influence  of  Count  Hertzberg  is  null,  the  affection  of 
the  King  cooled,  and  the  credit  of  his  Cabinet  trifling, 
the  Baron  has  proposed  to  the  Princess  to  make  this 
experiment. 

With  respect  to  her  consent,  whether  express  or 
tacit,  and  her  serious  determination  to  retouch  the 
regulations,  of  this  I  have  seen  proofs  in  the  letters  of 
the  Princess,  and  read  them  in  the  cipher  of  the  Prin- 
cess (for  it  will  be  well  to  know  that  she  is  very  labor- 
ious, ciphers  and  deciphers  herself,  and  with  her  own 
hand  indites  answers  to  all  the  writings  of  the  contrary 
party),  as  I  have  done  in  those  of  Larrey  and  of 
Linden. 

I  did  not  think  myself  justified  in  disregarding  such 
overtures.  After  having  said  everything  possible  in 
favor  of  M.  de  Calonne,  his  views,  projects,  and  con- 
nections (nor,  I  confess,  do  I  believe  that  the  manner 
in  which  I  am  devoted  to  him  left  me  at  this  moment 
without  address),  after  having  treated  as  I  ought  the 
perfidious  duplicity  of  M.  de  Breteuil  and  his  agents, 
and  after  having  uttered  what  I  thought  on  the  pru- 
dence of  M.  de  Vergennes,  the  delicate  probity  of  the 
King,  and  the  undoubted  politics  of  our  Cabinet,  which 
certainly  are  to  render  the  Stadtholder  subservient  to 
the  public  good,  and  the  independence  of  the  United 
Provinces,  but  which  cannot  be  to  procure  his  expul- 

11 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


324      MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

sion,  it  was  agreed  that  I  should  write  the  day  after 
to-morrow  to  demand  a  categorical  answer  from  M. 
de  Calonne,  to  know  whether  he  wishes  to  begin  a  cor- 
respondence, direct  or  indirect,  with  the  Princess;  and 
whether  he  consents  that  any  propositions  for  accom- 
modation should  be  made  him,  for  rendering  which 
effectual  his  personal  word  should  be  accepted,  when 
they  shall  be  agreed  on,  and  to  an  honorable  pacifica- 
tion in  behalf  of  the  Stadtholder,  suitable  to  the 
Sovereign. 

Baron  Reede,  on  his  part,  who  is  cautious,  and 
wished  to  appear  to  act  totally  from  himself,  wrote 
to  the  Princess  to  inform  her  that  this  step  was  taken 
at  his  instigation,  and  to  demand  her  prompt  and  for- 
mal authority  to  act.  We  are  to  meet  to-morrow  on 
horseback  in  the  park  that  we  may  reciprocally  show 
each  other  our  minutes ;  it  being  certainly  well  under- 
stood that  neither  of  us  is  to  show  the  other  more 
than  the  ostensible  minutes  we  shall  have  prepared; 
and  the  whole  is  to  depart  on  Saturday;  because,  said 
he,  as  not  more  than  twelve  or  thirteen  days  were 
necessary  for  him  to  have  an  answer,  this  would  be 
time  enough,  before  yours  should  arrive,  for  us  to 
form  the  proposed  plan — at  least,  so  far  as  to  establish 
confidence.  - 

This  is  the  faithful  abstract  of  our  conversation. 
With  respect  to  the  propositions,  I  had  only  to  listen ; 
and  as  to  the  reflections,  I  have  only  to  apologize. 
Should  you  be  tempted  to  suppose  I  have  been  too  for- 
ward in  accepting  the  proposal  to  write,  I  beg  the  inci- 
dent may  be  weighed,  and  that  I  may  be  informed 
how  it  may  be  possible,  at  the  distance  of  six  hundred 
leagues,  ever  to  be  successful,  if  I  am  never  to  exceed 
my  literal  instructions.  And  after  all,  what  new 
information  have  I  given  the  Baron  ?  Who  here,  who 
is  concerned  in  diplomatic  affairs,  has  any  doubt  that 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       325 

I  cipher?  And  on  what  subjects  do  men  cipher?  Is 
it  philosophy,  literature,  or  politics?  Neither  have  I 
told  of  what  kind  my  business  is;  and  my  constant 
formulas  have  been — I  SHALL  ENDEAVOR — I  SHALL 

FIND    SOME    MODE 1    SHALL    TAKE    AN    OPPORTUNITY 

OF  LETTING  M.  DE  CALONNE  KNOW,  ETC. 

At  present,  send  me  orders  either  to  recede  or  to 
advance;  and  in  the  latter  case  give  me  instructions; 
for  I  have  only  hitherto  been  able  to  divine,  and  that 
the  more  vaguely  because,  as  you  must  easily  feel,  it 
was  necessary  I  should  appear  to  the  Baron  to  be  bet- 
ter informed  than  I  really  am,  and  consequently  to 
ask  fewer  questions  than  I  should  otherwise  have 
done.  Ask  yourself  what  advantages  might  I  not 
obtain,  were  I  not  obliged  to  have  recourse  entirely 
to  my  own  poor  stock. 

In  brief,  what  pledges  do  you  desire  of  the  sincerity 
of  the  Princess?  What  proofs  of  friendship  will  you 
afford  her?  What  precautions  do  you  require  for  the 
good  conduct  of  the  Stadtholder?  What  kind  of 
restraints  do  you  mean  to  lay  him  under?  Will  you 
in  nothing  depart  from  what  was  stipulated  in  the 
commission  of  the  2/th  of  February,  1766?  What 
are  the  modifications  you  propose?  Must  mediation 
be  necessarily  and  formally  accepted?  Is  it  not  pre- 
viously requisite  that  the  provinces  of  Guelderland  and 
Utrecht  should  send  their  troops  into  their  respective 
quarters?  Will  the  province  of  Holland  then  narrow 
her  military  line  ?  In  this  supposition,  is  there  nothing 
to  be  feared  from  the  Free  Corps?  and  how  may  she 
answer  for  them?  What  will  be  the  determinate  con- 
stitutional functions  of  the  Stadtholder?  What  the 
relations  of  subordination  and  influence  toward  the 
deputy  counselors  ?  What  is  the  reformation  intended 
to  be  made  in  the  regulations? 

These,   and   a  thousand   other  particulars,   are   of 


326      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

consequence  to  me,  if  I  am  to  be  of  any  service  in  the 
business;  otherwise  I  need  none  of  them.  But  it  is 
to  me  indispensable  that  you  should  immediately  and 
precisely  inform  me  how  I  ought  to  act  and  speak, 
how  far  I  am  to  go,  and  where  to  stop. 

Be  kind  enough  to  observe  that  it  is  requisite  this 
step  should  be  kept  entirely  secret  from  Comte  d'Es- 
terno,  and  that  the  intentions  and  proceedings  of 
Baron  Reede  certainly  do  not  merit  that  the  Baron 
should  be  betrayed. 

A  curious  and  very  remarkable  fact  is  that  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick  was  the  first  who  spoke  to  Baron  Reede 
of  the  Prussian  troops  being  put  in  motion,  and  asked 
him  what  effect  he  imagined  it  would  have  on  the 
affairs  of  Holland  if  some  regiments  of  cavalry  were 
marched  into,  and  should  it  be  needful,  if  a  camp 
were  formed  in,  the  principality  of  Cleves,  which 
might  be  called  a  camp  of  pleasure.  Baron  Reede 
replied  this  was  a  very  delicate  step,  and  it  was  scarcely 
possible  the  Cabinet  of  Versailles  could  remain  an 
unconcerned  spectator.  Does  the  Duke  desire  to  be 
Prime  Minister,  be  the  event  what  it  may?  And  has 
he  unworthily  deceived  me?  Or  was  it  only  his  in- 
tention to  acquire  from  Baron  Reede  such  information 
as  might  aid  him  to  combat  the  proposition  of  Count 
Hertzberg?  The  Dutch  Ambassador  wished  to  per- 
suade me  of  the  first.  I  imagine  he  is  sincere;  yet,  to 
own  the  truth,  the  public  would  echo  his  opinion,  for 
the  Duke  is  in  high  renown  for  deceit.  But  here  I 
ought  to  oppose  the  testimony  of  Count  Hertzberg 
himself,  who  owned  that  the  idea  was  his  own,  and 
who  bitterly  repeated,  more  than  once,  "  Ah !  had  not 
the  Duke  deserted  me !  "  It  is  necessary  to  have  heard 
the  expression  and  the  accent  to  form  any  positive 
opinion  on  the  subject,  which  to  a  certain  point  may 
be  \\jarranted. 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      327 

January  $th. 

I  found  Baron  Reede  at  the  rendezvous,  in  the  same 
temper  of  mind;  and,  if  possible,  more  fervent,  more 
zealous.  The  only  delicacy  in  acting  he  required  was 
that  I  should  not  say  he  had  written;  in  order,  as  he 
observed,  that,  should  these  advances  still  fail  in  their 
effect,  a  greater  animosity  might  not  be  the  result. 
He  related  to  me  an  example  of  this  kind,  concerning 
the  success  of  a  confidential  proceeding  which  hap- 
pened, some  years  ago,  between  himself  and  M.  de 
Gaussin,  at  that  time  charge  d'affaires  from  France 
to  Berlin,  and  who,  having  described  the  business  in 
terms  too  ardent  to  be  accurate,  receives  a  ministerial 
answer  from  M.  de  Vergennes,  of  the  most  kind  and 
amicable  complexion,  which,  passing  directly  to  the 
Stadtholder,  through  the  medium  of  the  Cabinet  of 
Berlin,  was  by  no  means  found  acceptable,  as  it  might 
reasonably  have  been  supposed  it  would  have  been; 
and  that  this  produced  an  additional  degree  of  cold- 
ness. True  it  is  that  the  Prince  of  Orange  had  not,  at 
that  time,  experienced  the  strength  of  his  opponents; 
but  this  Prince  is  so  passionate,  and  his  mind  is  so 
perverse,  that  the  Princess  herself  is  obliged  to  take 
the  utmost  precautions  when  she  has  anything  to 
communicate. 

I  promised  Baron  Reede  to  act  entirely  as  he  wished ; 
yet  have  not  thought  it  the  less  my  duty  to  relate  the 
whole  affair,  well  convinced  that  people  only  of  very 
narrow  minds  pique  themselves  on  their  policy;  that 
M.  de  Calonne  will  think  proper  to  know  nothing  of 
all  this,  except  just  as  much  as  he  ought  to  know;  that 
in  any  case  he  will  seem  only  to  regard  this  overture 
as  the  simple  attempt  of  two  zealous  men,  who  com- 
municated a  project  which  they  supposed  was  most 
probable  of  success.  In  reality,  though  it  may  be  the 
most  pressing  interest  of  the  Stadtholder  to  obtain 


328      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

peace,  how  can  our  alliance  with  Holland  be  more  effec- 
tually strengthened  than  by  the  concurrence  of  the 
Stadtholder?  And  with  respect  to  the  individual  in- 
terests of  M.  de  Calonne,  should  we  happen  to  lose 
M.  de  Vergennes,  through  age  or  ill  health,  who  is 
there  capable  of  disputing  the  place  with  him,  who 
shall  have  promoted  the  commercial  treaty  between 
France  and  England,  and  have  accomplished  the 
pacification  of  Holland?  Enough  at  present  concern- 
ing the  business  in  which  I  am  engaged.  Let  us  re- 
turn to  Prussia. 


January  6th. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Goltz  has  long  been  on  cold 
terms,  and  even  has  quarreled,  with  Bishopswerder. 
They  had  once  been  reconciled  by  the  King,  who  felt 
that  the  first,  being  more  firm  of  character,  and  more 
enterprising,  had  great  advantages  in  the  execution 
of  affairs  over  the  other,  who  was  more  the  courtier, 
and  more  the  humble  servant  of  circumstances.  To 
avoid  domestic  scandal,  he  has  appointed  M.  von  Han- 
stein,  who  possesses  dignity,  or  rather  haughtiness, 
and  M.  von  Pritwitz,  a  man  of  mediocrity,  and  a  vic- 
tim to  the  caprices  of  the  late  King,  to  be  general 
aides-de-camp.  Thus  Bishopswerder,  after  he  has 
done  everything  in  his  power  to  remove  all  who  had 
more  understanding  than  himself  from  about  the  per- 
son of  the  King,  having  accomplished  his  purpose  and 
secured  the  Monarch  solely  to  himself,  knows  not  what 
he  shall  do  with  him. 

Count  Briihl  has  found  neither  arrangements  ready 
prepared,  apartments  furnished,  nor  persons  placed  in 
the  service  of  the  Prince  Royal.  The  consequences 
were — ill-humor,  a  visit  to  Welner,  not  admitted,  visit 
returned  late,  and  by  a  card,  rising  discontent,  which 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      329 

is  encouraged  by  Bishopswerder,  who  suspects  Welner 
to  have  been  softened  concerning  the  nomination  of 
the  two  general  aides-de-camp. 

A  fact  which  appears  very  probable  is  that  Welner, 
who  is  christened  by  the  people  The  Little  King,  knows 
not  how  to  perform  three  offices  at  once;  and,  as  he 
foolishly  believed  he  might  yield  to  the  eagerness  of 
speculators,  and  has  had  the  meanness  to  enjoy  the  des- 
picable flatteries  of  those  who  six  months  ago  treated 
him  like  a  lackey,  his  days  have  glided  away  in  these 
perilous  pastimes  of  vanity.  Business  has  been 
neglected,  everything  is  in  arrear,  and  it  is  presumed 
that,  when  he  shall  have  been  sufficiently  bandied  by 
the  intrigues  of  the  malcontents,  the  ingratitude  of 
those  whom  he  shall  have  served,  the  arts  of  courtiers, 
and  the  snares  of  his  own  subalterns,  his  brain  will  be 
entirely  turned. 

It  is  at  length  determined  the  capitation  tax  shall 
not  be  enforced.  Thus  it  is  withdrawn  after  having 
been  announced!  Without  conviction!  Without  a 
substitute!  What  confusion!  What  forebodings! 
From  the  short  prospect  of  the  morning  of  the  reign, 
how  portentous  are  the  steps  of  futurity! 

The  sending  an  envoy  to  London;  which  Court  has 
not  yet  returned  the  compliment. 

Another  envoy  sent  to  Holland,  who,  in  every  step 
he  has  taken,  has  risked  the  reputation  of  his  Sover- 
eign. It  certainly  was  necessary  either  to  act  con- 
sistently, or  totally  to  abstain  from  acting. 

The  commission  of  inquiry  on  the  administration  of 
the  finances,  which  has  been  productive  of  nothing 
but  injustice  and  rigor  toward  individuals,  without  the 
least  advantage  to  the  public. 

Another  commission  to  examine  the  conduct  of  Gen- 
eral Wartemberg,  appointed  with  ostentation,  and 
suspended  in  silence. 


330      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

The  suppression  of  the  administration  of  tobacco 
and  snuff,  which  must  be  continued. 

The  project  of  the  capitation  tax,  which  is  obliged 
to  be  withdrawn  at  the  very  moment  it  was  to  com- 
mence. 

The  convocation  of  the  principal  merchants  of  Prus- 
sia and  Silesia,  which  has  generated  nothing  but  dis- 
cussion, such  as  are  proper  to  unveil  the  absurdity  of 
the  rulers,  and  the  wretchedness  of  the  people. 

Do  not  so  many  false  steps,  so  many  recedings,  sup- 
pose administrators  who  have  reflected  but  little,  who 
are  groping  in  the  dark,  and  who  are  ignorant  of  the 
elements  of  the  science  of  governing? 

Amid  this  series  of  follies,  we  must  nevertheless  re- 
mark a  good  operation,  which  is  truly  beneficial.  I 
speak  of  that  at  present  unlimited  corn  trade,  and  an 
annual  exemption  in  behalf  of  that  miserable  Western 
Prussia,  the  amount  of  which  I  do  not  yet  know.  The 
domestic  fermentation  of  the  palace  begins  to  be  so 
great  that  it  must  soon  become  public.  The  agent  of 
the  wishes,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  of  the  secret 
whims,  is  in  opposition  to  Bishopswerder  and  Welner, 
who  are  on  cold  terms  with  Mademoiselle  Voss,  who 
is  desirous  that  Madame  Rietz  should  be  discarded, 
who  will  agree  that  Mademoiselle  Voss  should  be  a 
rich  mistress  but  not  a  wife.  Among  this  multitude  of 
opposing  wills,  where  each,  except  the  King,  acts  for 
himself,  we  may  enumerate  his  Majesty's  chamberlain, 
and  the  counselor  of  Mademoiselle  Voss,  Reuss;  and 
the  pacificator,  the  mediator,  the  counselor,  the  tem- 
porizer, the  preacher,  Count  Arnim. 

The  Sovereign,  amid  these  rising  revolts,  weathers 
the  storm  to  the  best  of  his  abilities.  The  jeweler 
Botson  has  laid  a  complaint  against  Rietz,  which  oc- 
casioned a  quarrel  that  might  have  had  consequences, 
had  not  the  King  recollected  that  ten  years  might  be 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      331 

necessary  to  replace  a  confidant  whom  he  might  have 
discharged  in  a  moment  of  anger.  The  birthday  of  the 
Count  of  Brandenburg  was  likewise  a  circumstance 
which  the  Rietz  party  made  subservient  to  their  in- 
terest. His  Majesty  sent  for  the  mother  to  dinner, 
and  peace  was  the  restorer  of  serenity. 

The  master  of  the  horse,  who  was  said  to  have  lost 
his  credit,  appears  to  have  risen  from  the  dead.  Ex- 
clusive of  his  yellow  ribbon,  which  he  hung  over  his 
shoulders  on  the  last  Court  day,  and  which  excited 
bursts  of  laughter  from  everybody,  even  from  the 
Ministers,  he  requested  his  nephew  might  be  created  a 
count,  and  was  answered  with  a  "So  be  it."  The 
creating  of  a  count  is  but  a  trifling  evil,  especially  when 
so  many  have  been  created ;  but  never  to  possess  a  will 
of  one's  own  is  a  serious  reflection. 

Would  you  wish  for  a  picture  of  the  sinews  of  Gov- 
ernment, and  active  facilities  of  the  Governors  ?  Take 
the  following  feature: 

Various  remonstrances  had  been  made  to  the  King 
finally  to  regulate  the  state  of  expenditure,  and  the 
salaries  of  his  officers.  He  replied  that  he  intended  to 
keep  a  Court;  and  that,  in  order  to  regulate  his  ex- 
penses, he  first  desired  to  know  the  permanent  state  of 
his  revenues,  according  as  they  should  be  collected  and 
ascertained  by  his  new  financiers.  After  reflecting  on 
various  phases,  in  all  of  which  was  repeated  the  word 
ASCERTAINED,  the  Ministers,  under  whose  charge  the 
excise  and  the  daily  expenditure  were,  began  to  have 
their  apprehensions.  Hence  followed  a  multitude  of 
trifling  taxes,  ridiculous,  hateful,  and  unproductive, 
which  sprang  up  in  a  single  night.  Oysters,  cards, 
and  an  increase  on  the  postage  of  letters,  on  stamps, 
on  wines,  eight  groschen  per  ell  on  taffetas,  thirty- 
three  per  cent  on  furs.  They  even  went  so  far  as  to 
suppress  the  franchises  of  the  Princes  of  the  house- 


332      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

hold.  Not  one  of  these  new  imposts  but  was  most 
gratuitously  odious;  for  they  retard  what  they  are 
meant  to  effect,  and  are  productive  of  nothing  but  a 
demonstration  of  the  heavy  stupidity  of  those  who 
neither  can  procure  money  nor  satisfy  the  public. 

POSTSCRIPT. — I  have  received  a  voluminous  dis- 
patch in  cipher  from  Courland,  the  contents  of  which 
it  is  impossible  I  should  at  present  send.  I  can  only 
confirm  former  intelligence,  that  the  chamberlain 
Howen,  who  is  at  present  Burgrave,  disposes  of  the 
province,  and  is  wholly  Russian;  the  circumstances  by 
the  next  courier. 


LETTER  LXIII 

January  8th,   1787. 

THE  following  is  the  substance  of  the  news  from  Cour- 
land, as  authentic  as  can  possibly  be  procured. 

The  chamberlain  Howen,  an  able  man,  the  first  and 
the  only  person  of  understanding  in  the  country  (for 
the  chancellor  Taube,  who  might  otherwise  counter- 
poise his  influence,  is  destitute  of  mind  and  character) ; 
Howen,  I  say,  is  become  Ober  Burgrave,  by  the  sudden 
death  of  the  Prime  Minister,  Klopman.  After  this 
event  followed  a  torrent  of  re-placings  and  de-plac- 
ings,  in  none  of  which  you  are  interested,  and  con- 
cerning which  it  will  be  sufficient  for  you  to  know 
that  every  recommendation  of  the  Duke  has  been  abso- 
lutely rejected  and  contemned.  The  Baron  of  Mest- 
Machor,  the  Russian  envoy  by  a  formal  and  direct 
recommendation,  occasioned  the  election  to  alight  on 
Howen,  who  once  was  the  violent  enemy  of  the  Rus- 
sians, by  whom  he  had  been  carried  off  from  Warsaw, 
where  he  resided  as  envoy  from  Courland,  and 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      333 

banished  into  Siberia.  Here  he  remained  several 
years.  By  a  concurrence  of  circumstances  he  is  become 
Russian.  It  appears  that  the  Cabinet  of  Petersburg 
has  preferred  the  gaining  of  its  purpose  by  gentle 
measures,  and  intends  amicably  to  accomplish  all  its 
designs  on  Courland.  Howen  is  in  reality  Duke  of 
Courland,  for  he  executes  all  the  functions  of  the  duke- 
dom, and  converts  or  overawes  all  opponents.  Woron- 
zow,  Soltikow,  Belsborotko,  and  Potemkin  are  absolute 
masters  of  Courland,  as  they  are  of  Russia;  with  this 
only  difference,  that  Potemkin,  who  possesses  a  library 
of  mortgages  and  bank  bills,  who  pays  nobody,  cor- 
rupts everybody,  who  subjects  all  by  the  energy  of  his 
will  and  the  extent  of  his  views,  soars  above  Bels- 
borotko, who  is  politically  his  friend;  above  Woron- 
zow,  who  is  capable  but  timid;  and  above  Soltikow, 
who  is  wholly  devoted  to  the  Grand  Duke. 

The  Duke  of  Courland  will  probably  return  no  more 
to  his  country,  because  he  has  ruined  his  affairs  in 
Russia,  is  unable  to  alter  anything  which  has  been 
done  in  his  absence,  is  entangled  in  lawsuits,  and  by 
complaints  laid  against  him  without  number,  and  be- 
cause the  regency,  which  preserves  a  good  understand- 
ing with  the  chiefs  of  the  equestrian  order,  under  the 
guidance  of  Howen,  reigns  with  moderation,  conform- 
able to  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  brings  down  benedic- 
tions on  its  administration;  insomuch  that  the  people, 
who  were  ready  to  revolt  because  they  were  threatened 
by,  and  already  were  suffering,  famine,  wish  affairs 
to  continue  in  their  present  train.  It  is  to  them  of 
little  import  whether  the  government  be  or  be  not 
Russian,  if  misery  be  not  entailed  on  them.  There  is 
no  possibility  of  reversing  a  system  thus  stable.  Some 
sixty  considerable  estates  have  been  granted  as  fiefs 
or  farms.  All  the  vacant  places  have  been  bestowed  on 
persons  of  the  greatest  influence,  abroad  and  at  home; 


334      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

so  that  we  may  say  the  party  of  the  administration  of 
Howen  or  of  the  Russians  in  Courland,  includes  every- 
body. Several  millions  must  be  expended  to  counter- 
poise such  a  preponderance;  and,  if  to  counterpoise 
were  to  vanquish,  victory  itself  would  not  be  worth 
expenses  so  great. 

One  of  the  principal  complaints  against  the  Duke  is 
the  deterioration  of  Courland,  which  has  been  effected 
by  the  total  impoverishment  of  the  peasants  and  the 
lands,  the  ruin  of  the  forests,  and  the  exportation  of 
the  ducal  revenues  into  foreign  countries.  But  the 
grand  crime,  the  crime  not  to  be  forgiven,  is  having 
displeased  Russia.  The  Empress  has  been  so  enraged 
against  him,  by  his  anti-Russian  proceedings  in  Cour- 
land, that  she  herself  said:  "The  King  of  France 
would  not  have  injured  me  as  the  Duke  of  Courland 
has  dared  to  do."  She  probably  meant,  bestowing 
Courland  on  Prussia. 

I  cannot  perceive  how  we  can  act  better,  in  our 
present  situation,  than  to  wait  with  patience.  Our 
young  man  will  certainly  have  a  place  in  his  own 
country.  Should  it  be  thought  proper  to  bestow  on 
him  the  title  of  consul,  with  leave  to  wear  our  uniform, 
and  a  captain's  commission,  from  which  he  might  de- 
rive respect,  he  asks  nothing  more;  and  we  should 
possess  an  intelligent,  zealous,  and  incorruptible  sen- 
tinel, who,  from  so  well-situated  a  post,  might  inform 
us  of  whatever  was  passing  in  the  North,  and  aid  us  in 
what  relates  to  commerce. 

I  need  not  observe  that  great  changes  are  not  effected 
in  a  day.  We  may,  however,  depend  upon  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  Maritime  Company  as  a  symptomatic  anec- 
dote of  importance.  Struensee  has  acted  in  a  pleasant 
manner.  "Gentlemen,"  said  he,  to  the  merchants  of 
Konigsberg  and  Prussia,  "nothing  can  be  more  excel- 
lent than  a  free  trade;  but  it  is  very  just  that  you 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      335 

should  buy  all  the  salt  in  our  warehouses."  "True." 
"Very  good.  You  must,  therefore,  give  us  security  for 
one  million,  two  hundred  thousand  crowns,  as  well  as 
pay  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  crowns  annually 
to  the  proprietors,  in  return  for  the  ten  per  cent  for 
which  we  are  accountable;  for  public  good  will  not 
admit  an  injury  to  be  committed  on  private  right." 
"True."  "Very  good.  And,  for  the  same  reason,  you 
must  pay  five  per  cent,  which  has  been  legally  granted 
on  the  new  shares."  "True."  "Very  excellent,  gentle- 
men. But  who  are  to  be  your  securities  ?  Or,  at  least, 
where  are  your  funds  ?"  "Oh,  we  will  form  a  com- 
pany!" "A  company,  gentlemen!  One  company  is 
as  good  as  another.  Why  should  not  the  King  give  the 
preference  to  the  company  that  actually  exists?" 

All  projects  for  the  freedom  of  trade  will,  like  this, 
go  off  in  fumo;  and,  what  is  still  more  fatal,  if  possible, 
conclusions  will  be  drawn,  from  the  ignorance  of  the 
present  administration,  in  favor  of  the  impossibilty  of 
changing  former  regulations.  Such  are  Kings  without 
a  will ;  such  is  the  present,  and  such  will  he  live  and  die ! 
The  other  was  all  soul ;  this  is  all  body.  The  symptoms 
of  his  incapacity  increase  with  aggravation.  I  shall 
have  continual  occasion  to  repeat  nearly  the  same 
words,  the  same  opinions,  the  same  remarks.  But 
here,  however,  may  be  added,  what  I  think  a  fact  of 
weight,  which  is  that  one  of  the  causes  of  the  torpor  of 
interior  administration  is  the  misunderstanding  which 
reigns  in  the  Ministry.  Four  Ministers  are  in  opposi- 
tion to  two,  and  the  seventh  remains  neuter.  Mes- 
sieurs Gaudi  and  Werder,  who  keep  shifting  the  helm 
of  finance,  are  counteracted  by  Messieurs  Heinitz, 
Arnim,  Schulemburg,  and  Blumenthal.  The  former  of 
the  last  four  is  accused  of  attempting  to  add  the  de- 
partment of  the  mines  to  that  of  the  finances.  In  the 
meantime  the  expediting  of  business  continues  with 


336      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

Welner,  and  the  impulse  of  influence  with  Bishops- 
werder. 

The  latter,  either  sincerely  or  insidiously,  has  become 
the  associate  of  the  plan  to  bring  Prince  Henry  again 
into  power,  at  least  in  military  affairs.  The  Prince, 
for  several  years,  has  not  been  present  at  the  ma- 
noeuvres. It  is  affirmed  that  he  not  only  will  be  this 
year,  but  that  he  will  be  made  a  kind  of  inspector 
general.  The  negotiation  is  carried  on,  with  great 
secrecy,  by  General  Moellendorf  and  the  favorite. 

The  marriage  of  Mademoiselle  Voss  is  again  in 
report.  Certain  it  is  that  every  species  of  trinkets  has 
been  purchased,  every  kind  of  preparation  has  been 
made,  and  that  a  journey  is  rumored.  Most  of  these 
circumstances  are  kept  very  secret;  but  I  am  well  as- 
sured of  their  truth,  because  I  have  them  from  the 
Rietz  family,  who  are  very  much  interested  in  pre- 
venting the  union  being  accomplished,  under  certain 
formalities,  and  who  consequently  are  very  actively  on 
the  watch.  But  I  know  not  what  form  they  will  bestow 
on  this  half -conjugal,  half-concubine  state.  Yesterday, 
however,  when  I  supped  with  the  King,  I  had  ocular 
demonstration  there  was  no  longer  any  restraint  laid 
on  speaking  together  in  public. 

The  King,  at  supper,  asked  me,  "Who  is  one  M.  de 
Laseau?"  "Du  Saux,  perhaps,  Sire."  "Yes,  Du 
Saux."  "A  member  of  our  academy  of  inscriptions." 
"He  has  sent  me  a  large  work  on  gaming."  "Alas! 
Sire,  you  masters  of  the  world  only  have  the  power  of 
effecting  the  destruction  of  gaming.  Our  books  will 
accomplish  but  little."  "But  he  has  embarrassed  me 
by  paying  me  a  compliment  which  I  by  no  means 
merit."  "There  are  many,  Sire,  which  you  are  too 
prudent  to  be  in  haste  to  merit."  "He  has  congratu- 
lated me  on  having  abolished  the  Lotto ;  I  wish  it  were 
true,  but  it  is  not."  "A  wish  from  Your  Majesty  will 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      337 

effect  much."  "I  am  some  thanks  in  your  debt,  on  this 
subject,  for  this  is  one  of  the  good  counsels  you  gave 
me  in  a  certain  writing."  (I  made  a  low  bow.)  "But 
you  must  excuse  me  for  a  time.  There  are  funds 
assigned  on  that  vile  Lotto;  the  military  school,  for 
example."  "Fortunately,  Sire,  a  momentary  defi- 
ciency of  fifty  thousand  crowns  is  not  a  thing  to  inspire 
the  richest  King  on  earth,  in  ready  money,  with  any 
great  apprehensions."  "True;  but  agreements— 
"Will  not  be  violated  when  the  parties  are  reimbursed, 
or  have  any  proportionate  remuneration.  Surely,  since 
despotism  has  so  often  been  employed  to  do  ill,  it  might 
for  once  effect  good."  "Oh,  oh!  then  you  are  some- 
what reconciled  to  despotism."  "Who  can  avoid  being 
reconciled  to  it,  Sire,  where  one  head  has  four  hundred 
thousand  arms?"  He  laughed  with  a  simple  kind  of 
grin,  was  informed  the  comedy  was  going  to  begin, 
and  here  ended  our  conversation.  You  perceive,  there 
is  still  some  desire  of  being  praised  in  this  lethargic 
soul. 

•POSTSCRIPT. — Launay  this  night  departed  incognito. 
I  imagine  you  will  give  very  serious  offense  to  the 
Cabinet  of  Berlin  if  you  do  not  prevent  him  going  to 
press,  as  is  his  intention. 


LETTER  LXIV 

January  i^th,   1787. 

I  BELIEVE  I  have  at  length  discovered  what  the  Em- 
peror was  hatching  here.  He  has,  sans  circumlocution, 
proposed  to  suffer  Prussia  to  appropriate  the  re- 
mainder of  Poland  to  itself,  provided  he  might  act  in 
like  manner  by  Bavaria.  Fortunately,  the  bait  was  too 
gross.  It  was  perceived  he  offered  the  gift  of  a  country 


338      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

which  he  had  not  the  power  to  bestow,  and  the  inva- 
sion of  which  would  be  opposed  by  Russia,  that  he 
might,  without  impediment,  seize  on  another  which 
had  been  refused  him,  and  of  which,  if  once  acquired, 
he  never  after  could  have  been  robbed.  Your  Ambas- 
sador, probably,  has  discovered  this  long  before  me, 
from  whom  you  will  have  learned  the  circumstances. 
To  him  the  discovery  has  been  an  affair  of  no  diffi- 
culty; for  confidence  is  easily  placed,  in  politics,  when 
it  is  determined  that  the  proposal  shall  be  rejected; 
besides  that  it  is  a  prodigious  step  in  advance  to  have 
the  right  of  conferring  with  Ministers,  from  whom 
that  may  be  divined  which  is  not  asked.  For  my 
own  part,  I  can  only  inform  you  intrigues  and  machina- 
tions are  carried  on,  and  the  very  moment  I  discover 
more,  I  shall  consider  it  as  my  duty  to  send  you  intel- 
ligence. But  I  do  not  suppose  I  can  give  you  any  new 
information  of  this  kind.  I  have  only  promised  to  sup- 
ply you  with  the  current  news  of  the  Court  and  the 
country.  The  rest  is  out  of  my  sphere.  I  want  the 
necessary  means  effectually  to  arrive  at  the  truth.  God 
grant  it  never  should  enter  the  head  of  the  Emperor 
to  allure  the  King  of  Prussia  more  adroitly,  and  to 
say  to  him,  "Suffer  me  to  take  Bavaria,  and  I  will 
suffer  you  to  seize  on  Saxony;  by  which  you  acquire 
the  finest  country  in  Germany,  a  formidable  frontier, 
and  near  two  millions  of  subjects;  and  by  which,  in 
a  word,  you  will  extend,  round,  and  consolidate  your 
dominions.  Neither  shall  we  have  any  great  difficul- 
ties to  combat.  All  of  them  may  be  obviated  by 
making  the  Elector  King  of  Poland.  The  Saxon 
family  possess  the  mania  of  royalty;  and  even  should 
the  kingdom  become  hereditary,  wherein  would  be  the 
inconvenience?  It  is  good,  or  at  least  it  very  soon  will 
be  good,  to  possess  a  strong  barrier  against  Russia." 
Should  they  ever  conceive  such  a  project,  it  would 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      339 

be  executed,  with  or  without  the  consent  of  all  Europe. 
But  this  they  have  not  conceived.  One  is  too  incon- 
sistent, the  other  too  incapable;  and  after  some  dis- 
putes, more  or  less  serious,  the  Emperor  will  filch  a  vil- 
lage, perhaps,  from  Bavaria,  and  the  King  of  Prussia 
continue  to  crouch  under  his  nullity. 

The  misfortune  is  that  to  treat  him  thus  is  to  treat 
him  with  indulgence.  The  following  is  a  fact  entirely 
secret,  but  certain;  and  which,  better  than  all  those 
my  preceding  dispatches  contain,  will  teach  you  to 
judge  the  man.  Within  this  fortnight  he  has  paid  a 
debt  of  a  million  of  crowns  to  the  Emperor.  And  what 
was  this  debt?  The  Empress-Queen  had  lent  the 
Prince  Royal,  now  King  of  Prussia,  a  million  of 
florins;  which  by  accumulating  interest,  had  become  a 
million  of  crowns.  And  when?  In  the  year  1778, 
during  the  Bavarian  campaign,  under  the  fatigues  of 
which  they  imagined  themselves  certain  that  Frederick 
II.  would  sink.*  Thus  was  Frederick  William  base 
enough  to  accept  the  money  of  Austria,  which  he  has 
had  the  imbecility  to  repay.  He  had  not  the  sense  to 
say,  "My  SUCCESSOR  WILL  REPAY  YOU."  No;  he  sanc- 
tions the  act  of  the  Imperial  Court  when  lending  money 
to  the  Princes  Royal  of  Prussia.  He  imagines  he  has 
fulfilled  his  duties  as  a  sovereign  when  he  has  had  the 
honesty  to  pay  his  debts  as  an  individual. 

The  sum  total  of  these  debts  amounted  to  nine  mil- 
lions of  crowns;  and,  though  I  do  not  indeed  suppose 
that  the  agents  are  any  losers,  it  is  nevertheless  true 
that  the  first  months  of  his  reign  will  cost  Prussia 
thirty-six  millions,  exclusive  of  common  expenses, 
gifts,  gratifications,  pensions,  etc.  The  extraordina- 
ries  of  the  first  campaign,  in  which  it  was  necessary  to 
remount  all  the  cavalry,  did  not  cost  Frederick  II. 
more  than  five  millions,  or  five  millions  and  a  half,  of 
crowns. 


340      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

I  have  not  yet  depicted  the  Monarch  as  a  warrior; 
the  trade  gives  him  the  spleen,  its  in  inn  tics  fatigue  him, 
and  he  is  weary  of  the  company  of  generals.  He  goes 
to  Potsdam,  comes  on  the  parade,  gives  the  word,  dines 
and  departs.  He  went  on  Wednesday  to  the  house  of 
exercise  at  Berlin,  uttered  a  phrase  or  two,  bade  the 
troops  march,  and  vanished.  And  this  is  the  house  in 
which  Frederick  II.,  loaded  with  fame  and  years,  regu- 
larly passed  two  hours  daily,  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
in  disciplining,  grumbling,  cursing,  praising,  in  a  word, 
in  keeping  the  tormented  troops  in  perpetual  action, 
who  still  were  transported  to  see  the  Old  One,  for  that 
was  the  epithet  they  gave  him,  at  their  head. 

But  a  more  important  point  is  the  new  military  regu- 
lations, which  have  been  conceived,  planned,  approved, 
and,  as  it  is  said,  are  going  to  be  printed,  without 
either  having  been  communicated  to  Prince  Henry  or 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  The  tendency  of  this  new 
plan  is  nothing  less  than  the  destruction  of  the  army. 
The  seven  best  regiments  are  converted  into  light 
troops,  and  among  others  that  of  Wunsch.  I  am  yet 
unacquainted  with  the  particulars  of  the  changes  made, 
but,  according  to  the  opinion  of  General  Moellendorf, 
had  Lascy  himself  been  their  promoter  they  would 
have  been  just  as  they  are.  The  worthy  Moellendorf 
is  humbled,  discouraged,  afflicted.  All  is  under  the 
direction  of  Goltz,  who  is  haughty,  incapable  of  dis- 
cussion, and  who  holds  it  as  a  principle  that  the  army 
is  too  expensive,  and  too  numerous,  in  times  of  peace. 
He  is  perpetually  embroiled  with  Bishopswerder,  often 
obliged  to  attend  to  business  of  this  kind,  and  in  some 
manner  under  the  necessity  of  interfering  in  affairs 
in  the  conduct  of  which  he  is  not  supposed  to  be  equally 
well  versed. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  does  not  come.  He  replied 
to  some  person  who  had  complimented  him  on  his 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      341 

promotion,  and  who,  in  a  letter,  had  supposed  he  was 
soon  expected  to  arrive  at  Berlin,  that  he  had  been 
exceedingly  flattered  by  receiving  a  title,  which,  how- 
ever, he  did  not  think  he  had  merited;  that  he  never 
had,  and  never  should,  come  to  Berlin,  unless  sent  for; 
and  of  this  he  saw  no  immediate  prospect.  I  have  very 
good  information  that  he  is  exceedingly  disgusted,  and 
will  doubtless  be  so  more  than  ever,  should  the  con- 
stitution of  the  army  be  reversed  without  his  opinion 
being  asked,  who  is  the  only  field  marshal  of  Prussia. 

I  do  not  scruple  to  affirm  that,  by  the  aid  of  a  thou- 
sand guineas,  in  case  of  need,  the  whole  secrets  of  the 
Cabinet  of  Berlin  might  be  perfectly  known.  The 
papers  which  continually  are  spread  upon  the  tables  of 
the  King  might  be  read  and  copied  by  two  clerks,  four 
valets  de  chambre,  six  or  eight  footmen,  and  two  pages, 
the  women  not  included.  For  this  reason  the  Emperor 
has  an  exact  and  daily  journal  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  King,  and  would  be  acquainted  with  all  his  pro- 
jects, were  he  really  to  project  anything. 

Never  did  kingdom  announce  a  more  speedy  decline. 
It  is  sapped  on  every  side  at  once.  The  means  of  re- 
ceipt are  diminished,  the  expenses  are  multiplied,  prin- 
ciples are  despised,  the  public  opinion  sported  with,  the 
army  enfeebled,  the  very  few  people  who  are  capable 
of  being  employed  are  discouraged.  Those  even  are 
disgusted,  to  please  whom  all  others  have  been 
offended.  Every  foreigner  of  merit  is  kept  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  the  King  is  surrounded  by  the  vulgar  and 
the  vile,  that  he  may  be  thought  to  reign  alone.  This 
fatal  frenzy  is  the  most  fruitful  cause  of  all  the  evil 
which  at  present  exists,  and  of  that  which  is  preparing 
for  the  future. 

Were  I  to  remain  here  ten  years  longer,  I  might 
furnish  you  with  new  particulars,  but  could  not  draw 
any  new  consequence.  The  man  is  judged;  his  crea- 


342      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

tures  are  judged;  the  system  is  judged.  No  change, 
no  possible  improvement,  can  take  place,  so  long  as 
there  shall  be  no  first  Minister.  When  I  say  no  change, 
I  do  not,  by  any  means,  wish  you  to  understand  no 
person  shall  be  dismissed.  Sand  shall  succeed  to  sand, 
but  sand  it  still  shall  be,  and  nothing  better,  till  piles 
shall  be  sunken  on  which  a  foundation  may  be  laid. 
What,  therefore,  should  I  do  here  henceforth?  I  can 
be  of  no  use;  yet  nothing  but  utility — great,  direct, 
immediate  utility — could  reconcile  me  to  the  extreme 
indecency  of  the  present  amphibious  existence  which 
has  been  conferred  upon  me,  should  this  existence  be 
prolonged. 

I  am  obliged  to  repeat  that  my  abilities,  what  I 
merit  and  what  I  am  worth,  ought  at  present  to  be 
known  to  the  King,  and  to  the  Ministry.  If  I  am  capa- 
ble of  nothing,  and  merit  nothing,  I  am,  while  here,  a 
bad  bargain.  If  I  am  of  some  worth,  and  may  effect 
some  good  purpose,  if  nine  months  (for  nine  months 
will  have  passed  away  before  I  shall  return),  if,  I  say, 
a  subaltern  test  of  nine  months,  most  painful  in  itself, 
and  during  which  I  have  encountered  a  thousand 
and  a  thousand  impediments  without  once  being  aided, 
have  enabled  me  to  acquire  some  knowledge  of  men, 
some  information,  some  sagacity,  without  enumerat- 
ing the  precious  contents  of  my  portfolio,  I  am,  then, 
in  duty  bound  to  myself  to  ask,  and  either  to  obtain 
a  place  or  to  return  to  a  private  station,  which  will 
neither  be  so  fatiguing  to  body  nor  mind,  nor  so 
barren  of  fame. 

For  these  reasons  I  undisguisedly  declare,  or  rather 
repeat,  I  cannot  remain  here,  and  I  request  my  return 
may  be  formally  authorized ;  whether  it  be  intended  to 
employ  me  hereafter  or  to  restore  me  to  myself.  I 
certainly  shall  not  revolt  at  any  kind  of  useful  occupa- 
tion. My  feelings  are  not  superannuated,  and  though 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      343 

my  enthusiasm  may  be  benumbed,  it  is  not  extinct.  I 
have  in  my  sensations  at  this  moment  a  strong  proof 
to  the  contrary.  The  day  which  you  inform  me  you 
have  fixed  for  the  convocation  of  the  notables  I  shall 
regard  as  one  of  the  most  glorious  days  of  my  life. 
This  convocation,  no  doubt,  will  soon  be  followed  by  a 
national  assembly,  and  here  I  contemplate  renovating 
order,  which  shall  give  new  life  to  the  monarchy.  I 
should  think  myself  loaded  with  honors  were  I  but 
the  meanest  secretary  of  that  assembly,  the  project  of 
which  I  had  the  happiness  to  communicate,  and  to 
which  there  is  so  much  need  that  you  should  appertain, 
or  rather  that  you  should  become  its  soul.  But  to  re- 
main here,  condemned  to  the  rack,  in  company  with 
fools,  obliged  to  sound  and  to  wade  through  the  foetid 
meanderings  of  an  administration,  each  day  of  which 
is  signalized  by  some  new  trait  of  cowardice  and 
stupidity,  this  is  beyond  my  strength;  for  I  perceive 
no  good  purpose  it  can  effect.  Send  me,  therefore, 
my  recall,  and  let  me  know  whether  I  am  to  pass 
through  Holland. 

There,  for  example,  I  would  accept  a  secret  commis- 
sion; because  pacification  there  demands,  as  an  indis- 
pensable preliminary,  a  secret  agent,  who  can  see  and 
speak  the  truth,  and  who  is  capable  of  captivating  con- 
fidence. I  do  not  believe  foreign  politics  afford  any  op- 
portunity of  rendering  greater  service  to  France.  I 
fear,  since  it  is  necessary  I  should  confess  my  fears,  we 
rely  too  much  on  the  ascendency  which  the  aristocracy 
has  gained,  of  late  years,  over  the  Stadtholdership.  I 
think  I  perceive  the  system  of  the  patriots  has  not  ac- 
quired any  decided  superiority,  except  in  the  province 
of  Holland,  which  does  not  disturb  its  co-estates,  or  at 
least  inasmuch  as  it  excites  their  animosities.  Nay,  at 
Amsterdam  itself,  the  very  hotbed  of  anti-Stadtholder 
sentiments,  was  not  the  Grand  Council  though  the  first 


344      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

to  rise  against  the  concession  of  the  Scotch  brigade  to 
England,  the  first  to  plead  in  favor  of  military  convoys, 
and  to  demand  the  dismission  of  the  Duke  Louis  of 
Brunswick?  Was  it  not  also  the  first  to  vote  for  a 
separate  peace  with  England,  and  for  the  acceptance 
of  the  mediation  of  Russia?  Was  not  its  admiralty, 
several  of  the  members  of  which  depend  on  the  regency, 
highly  involved  in  the  plot  which  occasioned  the  fail- 
ure of  the  Brest  expedition  ?  How  can  it  be  otherwise  ? 
The  Sovereign  Council  is  only  in  possession  of  an  im- 
aginary authority.  It  is  the  burgomasters,  who  are 
annually  changed;  or  even  the  president  of  the  burgo- 
masters, who  is  changed  once  in  three  months;  or 
rather,  in  fine,  such  among  the  burgomasters  as  gain 
some  influence  of  understanding  or  character  over  the 
others,  who  issue  those  orders  that  direct  the  impor- 
tant vote  of  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  in  the  Assembly 
of  the  States.  When  we  recollect  that  the  college  of 
sheriffs,  old  and  new,  from  which  the  burgomasters  are 
elected,  contains  a  great  number  of  English  partisans, 
and  depends  in  some  manner  on  the  Stadtholder,  who 
chooses  those  sheriffs,  I  know  not  how  we  can  depend 
upon  the  future  system  of  that  city. 

It  is  for  such  reasons  that  I  cannot  understand  why 
it  should  not  be  for  our  interest  to  bring  these  disputes 
to  a  conclusion,  if  we  do  not  wish  to  annul  the  Stad- 
tholclership,  which  cannot  be  annulled  without  giving 
birth  to  foreign  and  domestic  convulsions.  And  is  it 
possible  we  should  wish  for  war?  We  ought  not, 
doubtless,  to  suffer  the  family  of  the  Stadtholder  to 
remain  possessed  of  legislative  power,  in  the  three  pro- 
vinces of  Guelderland,  Utrecht,  and  Over-Yssel,  by 
what  is  called  the  rules  of  the  regency;  for  this,  added 
to  the  same  prerogative  in  the  provinces  of  Zealand 
and  Groningen,  inclines  the  balance  excessively  in  his 
favor.  Neither  can  it  be  doubted  but  that  the  power  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      345 

the  Stadtholder  ought  to  be  subservient  to  the  legisla- 
tive power  of  the  States.  It  is  of  equal  importance  to  our 
system,  or  rather  to  the  regular  system  of  foreign 
politics,  that  the  legislative  power  of  the  States  should 
be  directed  and  maintained  by  the  uniform  influence  of 
the  people.  But  the  pretensions  and  passions  of  in- 
dividuals, and  the  private  interests  of  the  members  of 
an  aristocracy,  have,  in  all  countries,  too  often  been  sup- 
posed the  public  interest ;  which  is  peculiarly  true  here, 
where  the  union  of  the  Seven  Provinces  was  formed 
in  troublesome  times,  and  by  the  effect  of  chance,  since 
the  people  did  not  think  of  erecting  a  republican  gov- 
ernment till  the  sovereignty  has  first  been  refused  by 
France  and  England.  Hence  it  resulted  that  tjie 
regents  and  the  people  never  were  agreed  concerning 
the  limitation  of  their  rights  and  reciprocal  duties.  The 
regents  have  necessarily  labored  to  render  themselves 
independent  of  the  people;  and  the  people,  supposing 
themselves  absolute,  since  they  never  consigned  over 
the  sovereignty  to  the  regents,  nor  have  had  any 
interest  to  support  them,  have  on  all  critical  occasions 
counteracted  their  attempts.  This  was  the  origin  of 
the  Stadtholder  party,  and  that  of  fluctuation  which 
has  happened  between  the  despotic  will  of  an  indi- 
vidual, the  perfidious  tergiversations  of  the  wavering, 
the  feeble  aristocratical  colleges,  and  the  impetuosity 
of  an  enraged  populace.  Should  ever  a  link  of  union 
exist  between  the  citizens  and  the  regents,  the  despot- 
ism of  the  Stadtholder  and  the  caprices  of  the  oli- 
garchy will  have  an  end ;  but,  while  no  such  union  does 
exist,  while  the  mode  in  which  the  people  influence 
the  Government  remains  undetermined,  so  long  musH 
the  system  of  France  remain  insecure. 

Preserve  the  confederate  constitution,  between  the 
provinces  and  the  republican  form,  in  its  reciprocal 
state.  Or,  to  reduce  the  proposition  to  the  most  simple 


346      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

terms,  INSTEAD  OF  THE  ODIOUS  AND  ILLEGAL  RECOM- 
MENDATIONS OF  THE  STADTHOLDER,  OR  OF  A  BURGO- 
MASTER, SUBSTITUTE  THE  REGULAR  AND  SALUTARY 
RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  CITIZENS.  Such  should 

be  the  palladium  of  the  republic;  such  the  pursuit  of 
our  politics. 

This  restriction  rather  demands  a  concurrence  of  cir- 
cumstances than  the  shock  of  contention.  And  shall 
we  be  able  to  effect  it  by  those  acts  of  violence  which 
are  attributed  to  us,  even  though  they  should  not  be 
ours,  or  by  increasing  fermentation  on  one  part,  and  on 
the  other  suspicion  ?  Have  we  not  made  our  influence 
and  our  power  sufficiently  felt  ?  Is  it  not  time  to  show 
that  we  wish  only  for  the  abolition  of  the  Stadtholder 
regulations,  and  not  that  of  the  Stadtholdership  ?  And 
how  shall  we  conclude  without  making  the  conclusion 
tragical,  since  it  is  not  in  human  wisdom  to  calculate 
all  possible  consequences,  if  we  cannot  effectually  per- 
suade the  persons  at  Nimeguen  that  such  is  our  real 
and  sole  system. 

Such  is  the  rough  draft  of  my  profession  of  faith, 
relative  to  the  affairs  of  Holland.  From  what  I  have 
said,  and  according  to  these  principles,  which  I  shall 
more  circumstantially  develop,  if  required,  in  a  written 
memorial,  it  may  be  estimated  whether  I  can  or  cannot 
be  useful  in  the  country;  further  supposing  me  pos- 
sessed of  local  information,  which  I  shall  with  facility 
acquire. 


LETTER  LXV 

January   \6th,   1787. 

IN  THE  opinion  of  those  who  know  that  revolutions 
effected  by  arms  are  not  often  those  that  overturn 
States,  it  is  truly  a  revolution  in  the  Prussian  mon- 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG      347 

archy  to  behold  an  example  for  the  first  time  of  a 
titled  mistress,  who  is  on  the  point  of  sequestrating  the 
King,  of  forming  a  distinct  Court,  of  exciting  cabals 
which  shall  be  communicated  from  the  palace  to  the 
LEGIONS,  and  of  arranging  affairs,  favorites,  adminis- 
tration, and  grants,  after  a  manner  absolutely  unknown 
to  these  cold  and  phlegmatic  countries.  The  moment 
of  the  disgrace,  and  the  consequent  elevation  of  Ma- 
demoiselle Voss  approaches.  Hence  intrigues,  sar- 
casms, opinions,  and  conjectures,  or  rather  predictions. 
Amid  this  mass  of  suppositions,  true  or  false,  the  fol- 
lowing is  what  I  can  collect,  which  seems  to  have 
most  probability.  My  translation  is  according  to  the 
text  of  one  of  the  former  friends  of  Mademoiselle 
Voss,  to  whom  she  has  opened  her  heart. 

This  new  Joan  of  Arc,  on  whose  head  devotion 
would  invoke  the  nuptial  benediction,  has  been  per- 
suaded that  it  is  her  duty  to  renounce  marriage,  and 
sacrifice  herself,  first  to  her  country;  in  the  second 
place,  to  her  lover's  glory ;  and,  finally,  to  her  family's 
advantage.  The  country,  say  her  advisers,  will  gain  a 
protectress,  will  remove  covetous  and  perverse  coun- 
selors ;  the  glory  of  the  Monarch  will  not  be  tarnished 
by  a  double  marriage;  and  her  family  will  not  be  ex- 
posed to  the  danger  of  beholding  her  a  momentary 
princess,  and  presently  afterward  exiled  to  an  old  cas- 
tle, with  some  trifling  pension.  They  affirm  favor  will 
be  the  more  rapturous  should  rapture  not  be  secured  by 
the  rites  of  Hymen,  and  that  the  instant  this  favor 
commences  she  will  rain  gold  on  her  relations,  with 
dignities  and  gratuities  of  every  kind.  Religious 
motives  have  been  added  to  motives  of  convenience.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  that  there  was  less  evil  in  con- 
descension than  in  contracting  a  pretended  marriage 
while  the  former  one  remained  in  full  force.  At  length 
it  was  concluded  that  this  VICTIM  TO  HER  COUNTRY'S 


348      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF, 

GOOD  should  be  taken  to  Potsdam  and  offered  up  at 
Sans  Souci.  A  house  has  been  prepared,  sumptuously 
furnished,  say  some,  and  simply,  according  to 
others,  and  at  which  are  all  the  paraphernalia  of  a 
favorite. 

An  anecdote,  truly  inconceivable,  which  requires 
confirmation,  and  which  I  am  still  averse  to  believe, 
is  circulated :  that  the  King  prostitutes  his  daughter, 
the  Princess  Frederica,  to  be  the  companion  of  his 
mistress. 

Mademoiselle  Voss  has  a  kind  of  natural  wit,  some 
information,  is  rather  willful  than  firm,  and  is  very 
obviously  awkward,  which  she  endeavors  to  disguise 
by  assuming  an  air  of  simplicity.  She  is  ugly,  and  that 
even  to  a  degree ;  and  her  only  excellence  is  the  good- 
ness of  her  complexion,  which  I  think  rather  wan  than 
white,  and  a  fine  neck,  over  which  she  threw  a  double 
handkerchief  the  other  day,  as  she  was  leaving  Prince 
Henry's  comedy  to  cross  the  apartments,  saying  to  the 
Princess  Frederica,  "  I  must  take  good  care  of  them, 
for  it  is  after  these  they  run."  Judge  what  must  be 
the  manners  of  princesses  who  can  laugh  at  such  an  ex- 
pression. It  is  this  mixture  of  eccentric  licentiousness 
(which  she  accompanies  with  airs  of  ignorant  inno- 
cence) and  vestal  severity,  which,  the  world  says,  has 
seduced  the  King.  Mademoiselle  Voss,  who  holds  it 
ridiculous  to  be  German,  and  who  is  tolerably  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  English  language,  affects  the  Anglo- 
maniac  to  excess,  and  thinks  it  a  proof  of  politeness  not 
to  love  the  French.  Her  vanity,  which  has  found  itself 
under  restraint  when  in  company  with  some  amiable 
people  of  that  nation,  hates  those  it  cannot  imitate, 
more  especially  because  her  sarcasms  sometimes  are  re- 
turned with  interest.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  other 
day,  I  could  not  keep  silence  when  I  heard  an  excla- 
mation, "  Oh,  Heavens !  when  shall  I  see,  when  shall 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      349 

we  have  an  English  play  ?  I  really  should  expire  with 
rapture !"  "For  my  part,  Mademoiselle,"  said  I, 
dryly,  "  I  rather  wish  you  may  not,  sooner  than  you 
imagine,  stand  in  need  of  French  play."  All  those  who 
began  to  be  offended  by  her  high  airs  smiled,  and 
Prince  Henry,  who  pretended  not  to  hear  her,  laughed 
aloud.  Her  face  was  suffused  with  blushes,  and  she 
did  not  answer  a  word;  but  it  is  easy  to  punish,  diffi- 
cult to  correct. 

She  has  hitherto  declared  open  war  against  the  mys- 
tics, and  detests  the  daughters  of  the  chief  favorite, 
who  are  maids  of  honor  to  the  Queen. 

But,  as  amid  her  weaknesses  she  is  transported  by 
devotion  even  to  superstition,  nothing  may  be  depended 
on  for  futurity.  Should  ambition  succeed  primary  sen- 
sations, it  is  to  be  presumed  her  family  will  govern  the 
State.  At  the  head  of  this  family  stands  Count  Finck- 
enstein,  whose  tranquillity  would  not  be  disturbed  by 
the  fall  of  the  empire,  but  who  would  with  inexpres- 
sible joy  contemplate  his  children  enacting  great  parts. 
Next  in  rank  is  Count  Schulemburg;  who  has  newly 
been  brought  into  the  Ministry;  an  active  man,  for- 
merly even  too  busy,  but  who  seems  to  perceive  that 
those  who  keep  most  in  the  background  become  the 
principal  figures.  This  family  preserves  an  inveterate 
hatred  against  Welner,  who  formerly  carried  off  or 
seduced  one  of  their  relations,  who  is  at  present  his 
wife.  To  these  we  may  add  the  president  Voss,  the 
brother  of  the  beauty;  who  at  least  possesses  that 
spirit  of  calculation,  and  that  German  avidity,  by 
which  such  persons  profit  whenever  fortune  falls  in 
their  way.  Should  Mademoiselle  Voss  render  her 
situation  in  any  degree  subservient  to  such  purposes, 
she  must,  while  at  Potsdam,  prepare  the  dismission  of 
Bishopswerder  and  Welner,  or  render  them  useless ;  for 
it  is  more  the  mode  in  Germany  to  dispense  with  ser- 


350      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

vice  than  to  dismiss.  She  herself  may  possibly  be 
ill-guided,  and  may  confide  in  the  first  who  shall  hap- 
pen to  be  present,  for  she  is  indiscreet.  She  depends 
on  the  constancy  of  her  lover;  for  she  is  yet  inexperi- 
enced in  the  GRATITUDE  of  mankind.  Having  never 
yet  obliged  anybody,  she  never  yet  has  rendered  any- 
one ungrateful. 

Should  this  happen,  affairs  will  remain  in  their  pres- 
ent state,  or  grow  worse.  The  King  will  shut  himself 
up  at  Potsdam;  whence,  however,  he  will  frequently 
make  excursions  to  Berlin,  because  he  has  contracted  a 
habit  of  restlessness,  and  because  his  favorite  seraglio 
will  always  be  at  a  brothel.  He  will  then  be  totally 
idle,  will  tolerate  rapaciousness,  and,  as  much  as  he  is 
able,  hasten  the  kingdom's  ruin,  toward  which  it  tends 
as  rapidly  as  present  circumstances  and  the  vis  inertias 
of  the  German  character  will  allow;  which  does  not 
permit  madmen  to  commit  anything  more  than  follies, 
and  preserves  men  from  the  destructive  delirium  of  the 
passions. 

Add  to  this,  the  Emperor  dares  attempt  nothing,  is 
consistent  in  nothing,  concludes  nothing,  that  he  ap- 
proaches his  end,  and  that  all  his  brothers  are  pacific. 
I  should  not  be  astonished  were  the  hog  of  Epicurus, 
who,  at  least,  is  not  addicted  to  pomp,  and  conse- 
quently will  not  of  himself  ruin  the  Treasury,  to  ac- 
quire, thanks  to  circumstances  and  interested  men,  a 
kind  of  glory  during  his  reign. 

Military  regulations  are  again  mentioned.  The  regi- 
ments of  the  line  are  not  to  be  ruined,  but  it  seems 
there  is  an  intention  to  form  a  certain  number  of  bat- 
talions of  chasseurs,  who,  under  good  regulations,  may 
become  useful;  and  this,  indeed,  was  the  design  of 
Frederick  II.  Nothing  yet  can  be  affirmed  on  the  sub- 
ject, except  that  it  is  exceedingly  strange  that  Frederick 
William  should  imagine  himself  able  to  effect  any  re- 


BERLIN  AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      351 

form,  the  economical  part  excepted,  in  the  military 
system  and  in  the  army  of  Frederick  II. 

Prince  Henry  probably  will  have  some  influence  in 
the  army.  His  name  stands  the  first  on  the  list,  al- 
though a  field  marshal  has  been  appointed.  The  King 
sent  him  the  list  yesterday  to  assure  him  it  was  so, 
by  M.  von  Goltz  himself.  They  have  given  the  child 
a  bauble.  What  his  military  influence  is  to  be  must 
remain  a  secret  till  the  appearance  of  the  new  regula- 
tions. He  is  often  visited  by  the  general  aides-de-camp. 
Whether  this  is  or  is  not  known  to  the  King  is  doubt- 
ful, and,  if  known,  it  is  evident  deceit  only  is  meant, 
which,  indeed,  is  a  very  fruitless  trouble.  He  has  no 
plan  contrary  to  the  politics  of  the  kingdom.  I  do  not 
say  of  the  Cabinet,  for  Cabinet  there  is  none.  Indeed, 
he  has  no  plan  whatever. 

Count  Goertz  is  recalled,  of  which  Gjount  Hertzberg 
was  this  morning  ignorant.  There  cannot  be  a  better 
proof  that  there  is  no  desire  to  interfere  in  the  affairs 
of  Holland,  or  not  openly;  nor  simply  to  expose  the 
nation  to  a  war,  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  Stadt- 
holder.  Of  this,  unfortunately,  the  House  of  Orange 
is  not  persuaded,  but  of  the  contrary,  if  I  may  judge 
from  the  letter  of  the  Princess,  which  came  by  the 
courier  of  this  morning,  a  part  of  which  I  read  as  soon 
as  it  was  deciphered.  It  is  in  this  point  of  view  that 
my  journey  to  Nimeguen,  under  a  borrowed  name,  and 
with  secret  authority,  known  only  to  her  and  me,  may 
become  useful.  In  this  same  letter  I  have  read  that  the 
patriots  are  endeavoring  to  effect  a  loan  of  sixteen 
millions  of  florins,  at  three  per  cent,  although  the  pro- 
vince of  Holland  has  never  given  more  than  two  and 
a  half  per  cent,  and  that  they  find  difficulty  in  procur- 
ing the  money. 

There  are  three  Bishops  here :  the  Bishop  of  War- 
mia,  the  Bishop  of  Culm  (who  is  of  the  House  of 


352      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Hohenzollern),  and  the  Bishop  of  Paphos.  The  first, 
whom  I  mentioned  to  you  in  my  account  of  the  King's 
journey  into  Prussia,  is  the  same  whom  Frederick  II., 
robbed  of  near  eighty  thousand  crowns  per  annum, 
by  reducing  the  revenues  of  his  bishopric  to  twenty- 
four  thousand  from  a  hundred  thousand  crowns;  for 
such  was  its  value  previous  to  the  partition  of  Poland. 
The  Monarch  one  day  said  to  him :  "  I  have  not,  in 
my  own  right,  any  great  claims  on  Paradise;  let  me 
entreat  you  to  take  me  in  under  your  cloak."  "  That 
I  would  willingly,"  replied  the  prelate,  "  if  your 
Majesty  had  not  cut  it  so  short."  He  is  a  man  of 
pleasure  and  of  the  world,  and  who  is  only  acquainted 
with  the  fine  arts,  without  other  views  or  projects, 
religious  or  political. 

The  second  has  been  in  the  service  of  France.  He 
has  the  rage  of  preaching  upon  him  and  of  being  elo- 
quent; and  the  desire  of  doing  good ;  but  as  he  has  also 
the  rage  of  running  in  debt,  and  getting  children,  his 
sermons  make  no  proselytes,  and  his  charities  relieve 
no  distress.  The  latter  is  a  suffragan  of  Breslau,  for- 
merly a  great  libertine,  and  a  little  of  an  atheist;  at 
present  impotent  and  superannuated. 

These  three  prelates,  who  are  to  be  reinforced  by  the 
Bishop  of  Lujavia,  and  the  new  coadjutor,  the  Prince 
of  Hohenloe,  Canon  of  Strasburg,  will  hold  no  council ; 
nor  will  they  justify  the  fears  the  orthodox  Lutherans, 
and  all  Saxony,  who  suppose  the  corner  stone  of  the 
Protestant  religion  to  be  laid  here,  have  entertained 
concerning  the  inclination  of  the  King  to  popery.  The 
one  came  to  obtain  the  order  of  the  Black  Eagle,  and 
is  gratified;  the  other  for  a  benefice,  vacant  by  the 
death  of  the  Abbe  Bathiani;  the  Prince  Bishop  of 
Warmia  for  a  money  loan,  at  two  per  cent,  which  may 
be  sufficient  to  satisfy  his  creditors. 

Prince  Henry,  after  having  given  a  comedy  and  a 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      353 

grand  supper,  concluded  the  banquet  with  a  ball,  which 
began  gloomily  enough,  and  so  continued.  While  some 
were  dancing  in  one  room,  others  were  gambling  at 
the  Lotto  in  another.  The  King  neither  danced  nor 
gambled;  his  evening  was  divided  between  Made- 
moiselle Voss,  and  the  Princess  of  Brunswick.  He 
spoke  a  word  to  M.  von  Grotthaus,  but  not  a  syllable 
to  anybody  else.  Most  of  the  actors  and  spectators  de- 
parted before  him.  The  Bishop  of  Warmia  and  the 
Marquis  of  Lucchesini  were  not  so  much  as  remarked. 
I  would  have  defied  the  most  penetrating  observer  to 
have  suspected  there  was  a  King  in  company.  Languor 
and  restraint  were  present,  but  neither  eagerness  nor 
flattery.  He  retired  at  half  past  twelve,  after  Made- 
moiselle Voss  had  departed.  It  is  too  visible  that  she 
is  the  soul  of  his  soul,  and  that  the  soul  which 
is  thus  wrapt  up  in  a  covering  so  coarse  is  very 
diminutive.  You  must  expect  this  continual  repeti- 
tion; the  place  of  the  scene  may  change,  the  scene  itself 
never. 

POSTSCRIPT. — The  news  of  the  recall  of  'Goertz  is 
false;  and,  from  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conveyed 
to  me,  either  Comte  d'Esterno  wished  to  lay  a  snare 
for  me,  or  had  had  a  snare  laid  for  himself.  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  circumstances  which  make  me  believe  it 
possible  the  negotiation  should  again  be  resumed.  I 
have  not  time  to  say  more. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  is  sent  for,  and  will  be  here 
in  a  few  days. 

Count  Wartensleben,  who  has  for  five  months  been 
forgotten,  yesterday  morning  was  presented  with  be- 
tween five  and  six  hundred  crowns  per  annum,  and 
the  command  of  the  regiment  of  Roemer  at  Branden- 
burg. 


354      MEMOIRS   OF  THE   COURTS  OF 


LETTER  LXVI 

January  igth,  1787.  The  day  of  my  departure.  This  tn//  not 
be  sent  off  sooner  than  to-morrow,  but  it  ought  to  arrive 
before  me. 

COUNT  SCHMETTAU,  the  complaisant  gentleman  of  the 
Princess  Ferdinand,  the  indisputable  father  of  two 
of  her  children,  had  eight  years  quitted  the  army, 
which  he  left  in  the  midst  of  war,  angered  by  a  disdain- 
ful expression  from  Frederick  II.,  and  holding  the  rank 
of  captain.  He  has  lately  been  appointed  a  colonel,  with 
the  pay  of  fifteen  hundred  crowns  per  annum.  The 
nomination  has  displeased  the  army,  and  particularly 
the  General  Aide-de-camp  Goltz,  who  had  been  in  har- 
ness five-and-twenty  years,  and  still  only  enjoys  the 
rank  of  lieutenant  colonel.  Count  Schmettau  has 
served  with  honor,  has  received  many  wounds,  nor 
does  he  want  intelligence,  particularly  in  the  art  of 
fortification.  He  has  drawn  a  great  number  of  plans 
which  are  much  esteemed.  A  military  manual  is  also 
mentioned  with  praise,  in  which  he  teaches  all  that  is 
necessary  to  be  done  from  the  raw  recruit  to  the  field 
marshal.  In  fine,  this  infringement  on  rank  might 
have  been  supportable,  but  there  has  been  another 
which  has  excited  the  height  of  discontent. 

The  commission  of  one  Major  Schenkendorff,  the 
governor  of  the  second  son  of  the  King,  who  gives  up 
his  pupil,  has  been  antedated,  by  which  he  leaps  over 
six-and-thirty  heads.  This  dangerous  expedient,  which 
Frederick  II.,  never  employed  but  on  solemn  occasions, 
and  in  favor  of  distinguished  persons,  and  which  his 
successor  had  before  practiced  in  behalf  of  Count  War- 
tensleben,  does  but  tend  to  spread  incertitude  over  the 
reality  of  military  rank,  and  to  be  destructive  of  all 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      355 

emulation.  It  is,  besides,  infinitely  dangerous  when 
employed  by  a  feeble  prince,  absurd  when  resorted  to  at 
the  commencement  of  his  reign,  and  must  finally  de- 
prive the  Monarch  himself  of  one  of  his  greatest 
resources,  the  point  of  honor. 

He  has  deposited  five  hundred  thousand  crowns  in 
the  provincial  treasury,  and  has  sent  the  transfer  to 
Mademoiselle  Voss.  Thus  happen  what  may,  she  will 
always  have  an  income  of  a  thousand  a  year,  besides 
diamonds,  plate,  jewels,  furniture,  and  a  house  that  has 
been  purchased  for  her  at  Berlin;  which  is  a  pleasure 
house  for  she  does  not  intend  to  inhabit  it.  Her 
royal  lover  has  himself  imagined  all  these  delicate  atten- 
tions, and  the  consequence  is  that  the  most  disinterested 
of  mistresses  has  managed  her  affairs  better  than  the 
most  artful  of  coquettes  could  have  done.  Time  will 
show  us  whether  her  mind  will  aspire  to  the  rank  of 
favorite  Sultana. 

New  taxes  are  intended  to  be  laid  on  cards,  wines, 
foreign  silks,  oysters,  coffee,  sugar, — contemptible  re- 
sources !  As  the  Ministry  are  proceeding  blindfold  on 
all  these  matters,  they  are  kept  in  a  kind  of  secrecy.  It 
seems  they  will  rather  make  attempts  than  carry  them 
into  execution. 

To-day,  the  birthday  of  Prince  Henry,  the  King  has 
made  him  a  present  of  a  rich  box,  estimated  to  be 
worth  twelve  thousand  crowns,  has  set  out  the  gold 
plate,  and  has  done  everything  which  Frederick  II. 
used  to  do,  if  we  omit  the  rehearsal  of  a  grand  concert, 
the  day  before,  in  his  chamber;  for  he  has  time  for 
everything  except  for  business. 

"  Let  there  be  bawdyhouses  on  the  wings,  and  I 
will  easily  beat  him  in  the  center."  Beware  that  this 
saying  of  the  Emperor  does  not  become  a  prophecy. 
The  prophet  himself,  fortunately,  is  not  formidable; 
though  I  should  not  be  astonished  were  he  to  be  ani- 

12 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


356       BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG 

mated  by  so  much  torpor  and  baseness ;  but  if  he  do  not 
wait  two  years  longer,  the  energy  which  the  King 
wants  may  be  found  in  the  army. 

POSTSCRIPT. — The  Duke  of  Weimar  is  at  Mayence, 
as  it  is  said,  for  the  nomination  of  a  coadjutor;  but,  as 
he  visits  all  the  Courts  of  the  Upper  and  Lower  Rhine, 
it  would  be  good  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  over  him,  in  my 
opinion. 


END  OF  THE  SECRET  HISTORY 


LETTER  OR  MEMORIAL 

PRESENTED    TO 

FREDERICK  WILLIAM  II. 

KING    OF    PRUSSIA 

ON  THE  DAY  OF  His  ACCESSION  TO  THE  THRONE 

BY 
COMTE  DE  MIRABEAU 


Arcus  et  statuas  demolitur  et  obscurat  oblivio,  negligit  carpitque 
posteritas.  Contra  contemptor  ambitionis  et  infinite?  potestatis 
domitor  animus  ipsa  vetustate  florescit;  nee  ab  ullis  magis 
laudatur  quam  quibus  minimi  necesse  est. 

PLIN.,  Panegy. 


ADVERTISEMENT 

SOME  imputations  are  at  once  so  odious  and  absurd, 
that  a  person  of  sense  is  not  tempted  to  make  them 
any  reply.  If  he  be  a  worthy  man,  silence  is  his  only 
answer  when  his  calumniators  are  anonymous. 

But,  amid  the  abuse  lately  vented  against  me,  and 
which  I  have  enumerated  rather  among  the  rewards 
of  my  labors  than  estimated  as  a  part  of  my  misfor- 
tunes, there  is  one  species  of  scandal  to  which  I  have 
not  been  insensible. 

I  have  been  accused  of  presenting  the  reigning  King 
of  Prussia  with  a  libel  against  the  immortal  Freder- 
ick II. 

Frederick  II.,  himself  sent  for  me,  when  I  hesitated 
(much  as  I  regretted,  having  lived  his  contemporary, 
to  die  unknown  to  him)  lest  I  should  disturb  his  last 
moments  during  which  it  was  so  natural  to  desire  to 
contemplate  a  great  man.  He  deigned  to  welcome  and 
distinguish  me.  No  foreigner  after  me  was  admitted 
to  his  conversation.  The  last  time  he  thus  honored  me 
he  had  refused  the  just  and  eager  request  which  some 
of  my  countrymen,  who  had  repaired  to  Berlin  to  see 
his  military  manoeuvres,  testified  to  be  admitted  to  his 
presence.  And  could  I,  in  return  for  so  honorable  a 
distinction,  have  written  a  libel? 

Frederick  is  of  himself  too  great  for  me  ever  to  be 
tempted  to  write  his  panegyric.  The  very  word  is,  in 
my  apprehension,  highly  beneath  a  great  King;  it  sup- 
poses exaggeration  and  insincerity,  the  wresting  or  dis- 
simulation of  truth ;  a  view  of  the  subject  only  on  the 
favorable  side.  Panegyric,  in  fine,  is  to  disguise,  or  to 

359 


360      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

betray,  the  truth ;  for  this  is  one  of  its  inevitable  incon- 
veniences ;  never  was  panegyric  true  or  honorable  that 
was  devoid  of  reproof.  I  therefore  have  not,  nor  shall 
I  ever  have,  written  the  eulogy  of  Frederick  II.,  but  I 
have  for  these  two  years  past  been  endeavoring  to  raise 
a  monument  to  his  memory,  that  ought  not  to  be  wholly 
unworthy  of  the  labors  by  which  his  reign  has  been 
illustrated,  or  of  those  grand  lessons  which  his  suc- 
cesses and  his  errors  have  equally  taught.  I  have  en- 
gaged in  this  considerable  work,  which  will  see  the  light 
in  the  course  of  the  present  year,  and  of  which  I  make 
no  secret. 

The  Memorial  which  I  presented  to  Frederick  Wil- 
liam II.,  on  the  day  of  his  accession  to  the  throne  was 
entirely  foreign  to  this  plan.  It  was  intended  only  to 
lay  before  him  the  hopes  of  worthy  men,  who  knew 
how  many  events,  rather  great  than  splendid,  might 
take  birth  in  Prussia  under  a  new  reign  and  a  Prince 
in  the  prime  of  manhood. 

The  following  is  the  Memorial  in  question,  which  has 
been  attributed  to  me  as  a  crime.  I  lay  my  case  before 
the  world,  that  the  world  may  judge.  I  have  not 
altered  a  line,  though  my  opinion  has  varied  consid- 
erably in  some  circumstances,  as  will  be  seen  in  my 
work  on  Prussia.  But  I  should  have  reproached  my- 
self had  I  made  any  change,  however  trifling,  in  a 
Memorial  to  which  the  venom  of  malignity  has  been 
imputed. 

It  has  been  often  asked  what  right  I  had  to  present 
such  a  Memorial. 

Besides  the  thanks  which  the  present  King  of  Prus- 
sia graciously  was  pleased  to  send  me  in  a  letter,  he 
has  not  disdained  personally  to  address  me,  in  a  nu- 
merous assembly,  at  the  palace  of  his  royal  uncle, 
Prince  Henry,  a  week  before  my  departure  from  Berlin. 
This  I  have  thought  proper  to  make  public,  not  in  an- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      361 

swer  to  idle  tales,  which  never  could  deceive  any 
person,  but  because  the  courage  to  love  truth  is  even 
fnore  honorable  to  a  King  than  that  of  speaking  truth  is 
.to  a  private  person. 


LETTER  OR  MEMORIAL 

PRESENTED  TO 

FREDERICK  WILLIAM  II. 

SIRE,  you  are  now  King.  The  day  is  come  when  it 
has  pleased  the  Creator  to  confide  to  you  the  destiny 
of  some  millions  of  men,  and  the  power  of  bringing 
much  evil,  or  much  good,  upon  the  earth.  The  scepter 
descends  to  you  at  a  period  of  life  when  man  is 
capable  of  sustaining  its  weight.  You  ought  at  pres- 
ent to  be  weary  of  vulgar  enjoyments,  to  be  dead  to 
pleasures,  one  only  excepted.  But  this  one  is  the  only 
great,  the  sole  inexhaustible  pleasure, — a  pleasure  hith- 
erto interdicted,  but  now  in  your  power.  You  are 
called  to  watch  over  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

The  epocha  at  which  you  ascend  the  throne  is  for- 
tunate; knowledge  daily  expands;  it  has  labored,  it 
continues  to  labor  for  you,  and  to  collect  wisdom;  it 
extends  its  influence  over  your  nation,  which  so  many 
circumstances  have  contributed  in  part  to  deprive  of 
its  light.  Reason  has  erected  its  rigorous  empire. 
Men  at  present  behold  one  of  themselves  only,  though 
enveloped  in  royal  robes,  and  from  whom  more  than 
ever  they  require  virtue.  Their  suffrages  are  not  to 
be  despised,  and  in  their  eyes  but  one  species  of  glory 
is  now  attainable;  all  others  are  exhausted.  Military 
success,  political  talents,  the  miraculous  labors  of  art, 


362      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

the  progress  of  the  sciences,  have  each  alternately 
appeared  resplendent  from  one  extremity  of  Europe 
to  the  other.  But  enlightened  benevolence,  which 
organizes,  which  vivifies  empires,  never  yet  has  dis- 
played itself  pure  and  unmixed  upon  the  throne.  It 
is  for  you  to  seat  it  there.  Yes,  renown  so  sublime 
is  reserved  to  you.  Your  predecessor  has  gained  a 
sufficient  number  of  battles,  perhaps  too  many;  has 
too  much  wearied  fame  and  her  hundred  tongues ;  has 
dried  up  the  fountain  of  military  fame  for  several 
reigns,  for  several  ages.  Should  accident  oblige  you 
to  become  his  imitator,  it  is  necessary  you  should 
appear  worthy  so  to  be,  in  which  Your  Majesty  will 
not  fail.  But  this  is  no  reason  why  you  should  pain- 
fully seek  honor  in  the  beaten  path,  wherein  you  can 
but  rank  as  second;  while  with  greater  ease,  you  may 
create  a  superior  glory,  and  which  shall  be  only  yours. 
Frederick  has  enforced  the  admiration  of  men,  but 
Frederick  never  obtained  their  love:  Yes,  SIRE,  their 
love  may  be  wholly  yours. 

SIRE,  your  mien,  your  stature,  recall  to  mind  the 
heroes  of  antiquity.  These  to  the  soldier  are  much; 
much  to  the  people,  whose  simple  good  sense  associates 
the  noblest  qualities  of  mind  to  beauty  of  person ;  and 
such  was  the  first  intention  of  Nature.  In  your  per- 
son the  heroic  form  is  embellished  by  most  remarkable 
tints  of  mildness  and  calm  benevolence,  which  prom- 
ise not  a  little,  even  to  philosophers.  You  have  a  feel- 
ing heart,  and  the  long  necessity  of  behaving  with 
circumspection  must  have  tempered  that  native  bounty 
which  otherwise  might  have  made  you  too  compliant. 
Your  understanding  is  just;  by  this  I  have  often  been 
struck.  Your  elocution  is  nervous  and  precise.  You 
have  several  times  demonstrated  that  you  possess  an 
empire  over  yourself.  You  have  not  been  educated, 
but  you  have  not  been  spoiled;  and  men  possessed  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      363 

energy  can  educate  themselves.  They  are  daily  edu- 
cated by  experience,  and  thus  are  taught  what  they 
never  forget.  Your  means  are  great.  You  are  the 
only  Monarch  in  Europe  who,  far  from  being  in  debt, 
is  possessed  of  treasures.  Your  army  is  excellent, 
your  nation  docile,  loyal,  and  possessed  of  much  more 
public  spirit  than  might  be  expected  in  so  slavish  a 
constitution.  Some  parts  of  the  administration  of 
Prussia,  such  as  its  responsibility  and  consistency, 
which  are  purely  military,  merit  great  praises.  One 
of  your  uncles,  crowned  with  glory  and  success,  pos- 
sesses the  confidence  of  Europe,  the  genius  of  a  hero, 
and  the  soul  of  a  sage.  He  is  a  counselor,  a  coadjutor, 
a  friend,  whom  Nature  and  destiny  have  sent  you,  at 
the  moment  when  you  have  most  need  of  him,  at  the 
time  when  the  more  voluntary  your  deference  for  him 
shall  be,  the  more  infallibly  will  it  acquire  your  ap- 
plause. You  have  rivals  in  power,  but  not  a  neighbor 
who  is  in  reality  to  be  feared.  He  who  seemed  to  pro- 
claim himself  the  most  formidable  has  too  long  threat- 
ened to  strike.  He  has  been  taught  to  know  you. 
He  has  hastily  undertaken,  and  as  hastily  renounced. 
He  will  again  renounce  his  new  projects.  He  will 
require  all,  will  obtain  nothing,  and  will  never  be  any- 
thing more  than  an  irresolute  adventurer,  a  burden 
to  himself  and  others.  To  preserve  yourself  from  his 
attempts,  you  need  but  to  suffer  his  contradictory 
projects  to  counteract  each  other. 

You,  SIRE,  are  the  only  Prince  who  is  under  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  performing  great  things, 
and  from  whom  great  things  are  expected;  and  this 
necessity,  this  expectation,  ought  to  be  enumerated 
among  your  best  resources.  How  admirable  is  your 
situation!  How  inestimable  are  the  advantages  you 
bring  to  that  throne  whereon  being  seated  your  power 
is  boundless!  A  power  formidable  even  to  the  pos- 


364      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS  OF 

sessor !  But  be  it  remembered  that  grand  institutions, 
important  changes,  and  the  regeneration  of  empires, 
appertain  only  to  absolute  Monarchs.  Deign,  oh, 
deign,  to  accept  the  good  that  Providence  has  strewn 
beneath  your  feet!  Merit  the  benefactions  of  the  poor, 
the  love  of  the  people,  the  respect  of  Europe,  and  the 
approbation  of  the  wise!  Be  just,  be  good;  and  you 
will  be  happy  and  great. 

GREAT. — This,  SIRE,  is  the  title  you  wish;  but  you 
wish  it  from  history,  from  futurity;  you  would  dis- 
dain it  from  the  lips  of  courtiers,  whom  you  HAVE 
heard,  and  whom  you  SHALL  hereafter  much  oftener 
hear,  prodigal  of  the  grossest  praise.  Should  you  do 
that  which  the  son  of  your  slave  could  have  hourly 
done  better  than  yourself,  they  will  affirm  that  YOU 

HAVE    PERFORMED    AN    EXTRAORDINARY    ACT.       Should 

you  obey  your  passions,  they  will  affirm — YOU  HAVE 
WELL  DONE.  Should  you  pour  forth  the  blood  of  your 
subjects  as  a  river  does  its  waters,  they  will  pronounce 
— YOU  HAVE  DONE  WELL.  Should  you  tax  the  free 
air,  they  will  assert — YOU  HAVE  DONE  WELL.  Should 
you,  puissant  as  you  are,  become  revengeful,  still 
would  they  proclaim  you  had  DONE  WELL.  So  they 
told  the  intoxicated  Alexander  when  he  plunged  his 
dagger  into  the  bosom  of  his  friend.  Thus  they  ad- 
dressed Nero,  having  assassinated  his  mother. 

But,  SIRE,  you  need  only  to  feel  those  sentiments 
of  justice  which  are  native  to  your  bosom,  and  that 
enlightened  consciousness  of  benevolence  which  you 
possess;  your  own  heart  will  be  your  judge;  and  its 
decrees  will  be  confirmed  by  your  people,  by  the  world, 
and  by  posterity.  The  esteem  of  these  is  indispens- 
able; and  how  easily  may  their  esteem  be  obtained! 
Should  you  indefatigably  perform  the  duties  of  the 
day,  and  not  remit  its  burdensome  labors  till  the  mor- 
row ;  should  you  by  grand  and  prolific  principles  know 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      365 

how  to  simplify  these  duties,  so  that  they  may  be  per- 
formed by  a  single  man ;  should  you  accord  your  sub- 
jects all  the  liberty  they  are  capable  of  enjoying; 
should  you  protect  property,  aid  industry,  and  root 
out  petty  oppressors,  who,  abusing  your  name,  will 
not  permit  men  to  do  that  for  their  own  advantage 
which  they  might  without  injury  to  others;  then  will 
the  unanimous  voice  of  mankind  bestow  blessings  on 
your  authority,  and  thus  render  it  more  sacred  and 
more  potent.  All  things  will  then  become  easy  to 
you,  for  every  will  and  every  power  will  unite  with 
your  will 'and  your  power,  and  your  labors  will  daily 
acquire  new  enjoyments.  Nature  has  rendered  labor 
necessary  to  man;  but  she  has  also  bestowed  on  him 
this  precious  advantage,  that  the  change  of  labor  is  at 
once  a  recreation  to  him  and  a  source  of  pleasure. 
And  who  more  than  a  Monarch  may  live  according 
to  this  order  of  Nature  ?  A  philosopher  has  said,  "  No 
man  was  so  oppressed  by  languor  as  a  King."  He 
ought  to  have  said  A  SLOTHFUL  KING.  How  can  lan- 
guor overcome  a  Sovereign  who  shall  perform  his 
duties?  How  may  he  better  maintain  his  body  in 
health,  or  his  mind  in  vigor  than  when  by  labor  he 
preserves  himself  from  that  disgust  which  all  men  of 
understanding  must  feel,  amid  the  babblers  and  the 
parasites  who  study  but  to  corrupt,  lull,  benumb,  and 
pilfer  Princes?  Their  whole  art  is  to  inspire  him 
with  apathy  and  debility;  or  to  render  him  impotent, 
rash,  and  indolent.  Your  people  will  enjoy  your  vir- 
tues; for  by  these  only  can  they  prosper  or  improve. 
Your  courtiers  will  applaud  your  defects;  for  on  these 
depend  their  influence  and  their  hopes. 

Habit,  SIRE,  no  less  than  accident,  influences  men; 
and  habit  is  determined  by  the  beginning.  Therefore 
is  the  commencement  of  a  reign  of  such  value.  Every- 
thing is  hoped,  and  the  slightest  effort  seconds  and 


366      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

confirms  that  hope,  increasing  it  a  hundredfold.  By 
the  pleasure  of  having  done,  we  are  strengthened  in 
the  love  of  doing,  good;  and  that  which  is  wished  is 
rendered  more  easy  by  that  which  has  been  effected. 

The  beginning,  SIRE,  depends  absolutely  on  your- 
self. Acquire  none  but  good  habits;  give  no  encour- 
agement to  those  that  are  frivolous.  Display  the  man 
of  order,  the  lover  of  the  public  welfare.  You  will 
soon  be  joined  by  all  your  Ministers  and  all  your 
courtiers.  Emulation  will  spring  forth,  and  wisdom 
will  inevitably  be  the  result.  Emulation  will  aid  you 
to  judge  the  understandings  of  those  by  whom  you 
shall  be  approached.  It  may  sometimes  excite  or  pro- 
duce a  happy  project,  and  you  will  even  turn  that  pro- 
pensity to  flattery,  which  cannot  totally  be  expelled 
from  Courts,  to  the  good  of  your  people. 

You  may  immediately  ascertain  to  yourself  that  lib- 
erty of  mind  which  grand  affairs  require,  by  inter- 
fering only  with  such  as  appertain  to  the  sovereign 
authority,  and  by  leaving  to  your  Magistrates  and 
Ministers  all  those  which  naturally  should  come  under 
their  consideration. 

More  than  one  estimable  Monarch  has  rendered  him- 
self incapable  of  reigning  with  glory  by  overburden- 
ing his  mind  with  private  affairs.  As,  SIRE,  it  will 
become  you  always  to  govern  well,  it  will  also  be 
worthy  of  you  not  to  govern  too  much.  Wherefore 
should  a  King  concern  himself  with  civil  government 
which  can  be  better  exercised  without  his  aid?  Au- 
thority once  established,  external  safety  ascertained, 
civil  and  criminal  justice  administered  alike  to  all 
classes  of  citizens,  landed  property  accurately  esti- 
mated so  as  to  be  judiciously  assessed,  and  public 
works,  roads,  and  canals  wisely  attended  to ;  what  more 
has  government  to  transact?  It  has  but  to  enjoy  the 
industry  of  the  people,  who,  while  active  for  their  own 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      367 

interest,  are  also  acting  for  the  interest  of  the  State 
and  the  Sovereign. 

The  King  who  shall  examine  whether  it  be  not  the 
most  wise  not  to  lay  any  restraint  on  the  general  affairs 
and  business  of  men  is  yet  to  be  born;  yet  this  is  the 
King  who  would  govern  like  a  God ;  and,  by  the  min- 
istry of  reason,  leaving  the  interest  of  each  individual 
to  himself,  would  ascertain  to  all  the  fruits  of  their 
industry  and  their  knowledge.  Where  men  are  most 
free,  there  will  they  be  most  numerous ;  and  there,  also 
will  they  pay  the  most  submission,  and  have  the  great- 
est attachment,  to  authority;  for  authority  is  essen- 
tially the  friend  of  that  freedom  which  it  protects. 
No  man  would  require  more  than  to  be  left  AT  LIBERTY 

AND  IN  PEACE. 

You  surely,  SIRE,  are  not  to  be  told  that  the  mania 
of  enacting  and  restraining  laws  is  the  characteristic 
of  inferior  minds;  of  men  incapable  of  generalizing, 
who  feed  on  timidity,  and  shake  with  ridiculous  appre- 
hensions. This  important  truth  will  indicate  to  you 
the  reformation  you  ought  to  make;  and  how  much 
better  you  will  govern  than  your  predecessors  and 
rivals,  by  governing  less.  , 

There  are,  doubtless,  a  multitude  of  good,  useful, 
necessary,  and  even  urgent  things,  which  it  will  be 
impossible  you  should  immediately  execute.  You 
must  first  learn  them,  must  combine,  and  leave  them 
to  ripen.  And  wherefore  should  you  confide  in  the 
opinion  of  another?  This  is  one  of  the  grand  errors 
of  which  you  ought  to  be  aware,  as  you  ought  also  of 
being  obliged  to  retract  what  you  have  done.  The 
inconsistency  of  that  Sovereign,  among  your  rivals, 
who  has  attempted  the  most,  has  been  more  injurious 
to  the  political  respect  in  which  he  might  have  been 
held  than  his  worst  errors.  Not  only,  therefore,  must 
you  learn  what  is  to  do,  but,  which  is  more  difficult, 


MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

you  must,  perhaps,  instruct  your  Ministers,  and  cer- 
tainly your  people.  Let  persuasion  precede  legislation, 
SIRE  ;  and  you  will  meet  no  contradiction,  and  scarcely 
any  impediments  in  those  operations  which  require 
moments  of  greater  calm,  and  less  business,  than  are 
those  of  the  beginning  of  a  reign.  But  there  are 
things  which  you  may  instantly  execute,  and  which, 
by  propagating  a  high  opinion  of  your  worth,  will 
acquire  the  fruits  of  confidence  to  your  own  profit,  and 
facilitate  the  grand  changes  with  which  your  reign 
ought  to  abound. 

Suffer  3  man  who  loves  you — pardon  the  freedom, 
for  the  truth  of  the  expression — suffer  a  man  who 
loves  you,  for  the  good  you  may  do,  and  for  the  grand 
example  you  shall  afford  of  the  evil  that  may  be 
avoided,  to  point  out  a  few  of  those  things  which  a 
single  voluntary  act  of  yours  may  perform,  and  which 
can  only  be  productive  of  good,  without  inconvenience, 
while  they  shall  display  the  morning  of  the  most  pa- 
ternal reign  which  has  ever  blessed  mankind. 

Among  these,  SIRE,  and  in  the  first  rank,  I  shall 
enumerate  the  abolition  of  military  slavery ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  obligation  imposed  in  your  States  on  all  men 
from  the  age  of  eighteen  to  sixty  and  upward,  if  able, 
to  serve  for  threepence  a  day. 

This  fearful  law,  originating  in  the  necessities  of  an 
iron  age  and  a  half -barbarous  country;  this  law  which 
depopulates  and  exhausts  your  kingdom,  which  dis- 
honors the  most  numerous  and  the  most  useful  class 
of  your  subjects,  without  whom  you  and  your  ances- 
tors would  only  have  been  slaves  more  or  less  feathered 
and  painted;  this  law,  which  is  abused  by  your  offi- 
cers, who  enroll  more  men  than  the  military  conscrip- 
tion permits,  this  law  does  not  procure  you  a  soldier 
more  than  you  would  acquire  by  an  increase  of  pay, 
which  might  easily  be  made  from  the  additional  rev- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      369 

enue  which  you  would  gain  by  the  just  suppression 
of  those  ruinous  enlisters  whom  Frederick  II.  main- 
tained in  foreign  countries;  and  by  a  sage  mode  of 
recruiting  the  Prussian  army,  in  a  manner  that  should 
elevate  the  mind,  increase  public  spirit,  and  preserve 
the  forms  of  freedom  instead  of  those  of  brutalizing 
slavery. 

Throughout  Europe,  SIRE,  and  in  Prussia  partic- 
ularly, men  have  had  the  stupidity  to  deprive  them- 
selves of  one  of  the  most  useful  instinctive  feelings 
on  which  the  love  of  our  country  can  be  founded. 
Men  are  required  to  go  to  war  like  sheep  to  the  slaugh- 
terhouse; though  nothing  could  be  more  easy  than  to 
unite  the  service  of  the  public  with  emulation  and 
fame. 

Your  subjects  are  obliged  to  serve  from  eighteen  to 
sixty;  and  this  they,  with  good  reason,  suppose  to  be 
the  rigorous  subjection  of  servility.  The  militia  of 
France  is  the  same,  and  though  less  cruel,  is  hateful 
to  the  people.  Yet  the  Swiss  have  a  similar  obligation, 
which  commences  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  they 
believe  themselves  to  be  free  men. 

In  fact,  that  natural  confederacy  which  induces  citi- 
zens of  the  same  condition  to  repel  the  enemy,  and  to 
defend  their  own  and  their  neighbor's  inheritance,  is 
so  manifest,  and  the  exercise  of  it  is  so  pleasingly 
attractive  to  youth,  that  it  is  inconceivable  how  tyr- 
anny could  be  so  weak  as  to  render  it  a  burden. 

Impart,  SIRE,  to  this  obligation  the  forms  of  free- 
dom and  of  fame,  by  making  it  voluntary,  and  neces- 
sary in  order  to  merit  esteem,  by  rendering  it  a  point 
of  honor;  and  your  army  will  be  better  conditioned, 
while  your  subjects  shall  imagine  they  are,  and  shall 
really  be,  relieved  from  a  yoke  most  odious. 

Begin  by  remitting  ten  years  of  service;  your  army 
then  will  not  be  debilitated  by  age. 


370      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Let  your  peasants  afterward  form  national  com- 
panies, in  all  parishes,  that  shall  exercise  every  Sunday. 

Let  such  national  companies  choose  their  own 
grenadiers;  and  from  these  let  the  recruits  for  your 
regiments  be  selected, — not  by  your  officers,  not  by  the 
Magistrates,  but  by  the  plurality  of  votes  among  their 
comrades.  Arbitrary  proceedings  would  vanish, 
choice  would  become  distinction,  and  the  parishes  re- 
sponsible for  the  soldiers  they  have  supplied.  Being 
obliged  to  fill  up  their  own  vacancies  when  drafts  are 
made,  the  regiments  would  be  always  complete,  with- 
out effort,  without  tyranny,  and  without  murmur. 

Kings  who  have  created  power,  impatient  of  enjoy- 
ment, have  not  confided  in  general  principles.  They 
have  feared  that  the  people  they  have  invited  into  their 
countries  should  too  soon  be  disgusted  by  the  difficul- 
ties they  must  have  to  encounter  at  the  beginning. 
Hence  those  tyrannical  regulations,  by  the  aid  of  which 
they  have  intended  to  fix  the  wretch  to  the  soil  on 
which  he  had  been  planted.  In  the  present  state  of 
your  kingdom  there  is  no  pretext  for  the  continuance 
of  this  error.  It  is  time  to  eradicate  slavery  at  which 
the  heart  revolts,  which  drives  away  good  subjects,  or 
inspires  them  with  the  desire  of  escaping.  Banish, 
therefore,  all  unnecessary  constraint;  and  this,  which 
of  all  others  is  the  most  unnecessary. 

Yet,  before  deciding  on  any  plan  for  the  recruiting 
of  the  army,  it  is  requisite  to  consider,  with  all  the 
attention  which  it  merits,  that  of  the  most  worthy  of 
your  Ministers,  Baron  Hertzberg,  who,  to  a  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  the  wounds  of  Prussia,  and  the 
means  of  prosperity  and  cure,  joins  the  highest  degree 
of  public  spirit  and  patriotic  love.  He  supposes  it 
possible  to  recruit  the  army  by  itself,  so  as  to  provide 
for  everything  that  the  most  restless  state  of  politics 
can  require.  Perhaps,  and  probably,  his  plan  and  mine 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      371 

may  coalesce.  It  is  incontestably  one  of  those  which 
ought  to  be  executed  at  the  very  beginning  of  your 
reign;  but  let  it  be  preceded  by  a  law  of  enfranchise- 
ment, which  shall  procure  your  efforts  the  universal 
suffrages  of  mankind,  and  their  combined  aid. 

It  is  not  to  a  man  so  worthy  as  you,  SIRE  (and  what 
greater  praise  can  be  bestowed  upon  a  King?),  it  is 
not  necessary  to  recommend,  with  respect  to  enroll- 
ments, the  religious  observation  of  all  the  stipulations 
so  unworthily  violated  by  your  predecessors,  or  the 
pious  rewarding  of  soldiers  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  by  long  and  loyal  service.  Alas!  SIRE,  I 
have  seen  alms  bestowed,  under  the  windows  of  your 
palace,  upon  men  who,  while  you  were  yet  in  your 
cradle,  have  shed  their  blood  in  defense  of  your  fam- 
ily. Your  generous  equity  doubtless  will  soften  the 
rigor  of  their  destiny.  Remember  also  the  duty,  the 
necessity,  of  educating  the  children  of  soldiers,  who 
at  present  are  perishing  in  the  most  deplorable  man- 
ner, in  the  orphan  house  of  Potsdam,  where  more  than 
four  thousand  are  huddled  together.  Humanity  im- 
plores your  protection  of  these  wretched  victims,  and 
provident  policy,  which  but  too  loudly  affirms  how 
requisite  a  great  army  will  long  be  to  the  Prus- 
sian States,  will  point  out  the  real  value  of  these 
children. 

Men  ought  to  be  happy  in  your  kingdom,  SIRE; 
grant  them  liberty  to  leave  their  country,  when  not 
legally  detained  by  individual  obligations.  Grant  this 
freedom  by  a  formal  edict.  This,  SIRE,  is  another  of 
the  eternal  laws  of  equity,  which  the  situation  of  the 
times  demands  should  be  put  in  execution ;  which  will 
do  you  infinite  good,  and  which  will  not  rob  you  of 
'one  enjoyment;  for  your  people  can  nowhere  seek  a 
better  condition  than  that  which  it  depends  on  you  to 
afford  them ;  and  could  they  be  happy  elsewhere  they 


372      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

would  not  be  detained  by  your  prohibitions.  Leave 
such  laws  to  those  Powers  that  have  been  desirous  to 
render  provinces  prisons,  forgetting  that  this  was  but 
to  make  them  hateful.  The  most  tyrannical  laws  re- 
specting emigration  have  only  impelled  the  people  to 
emigrate,  against  the  very  wish  of  Nature,  and  per- 
haps the  most  powerful  of  all  wishes,  which  attaches 
man  to  his  native  soil.  How  does  the  Laplander  cher- 
ish the  desolate  climate  under  which  he  is  born !  And 
would  the  inhabitant  of  a  kingdom  enlightened  by 
milder  suns  pronounce  his  own  banishment,  did  not  a 
tyrannical  administration  render  the  benefits  of  Nature 
useless  or  abhorred?  Far  from  dispersing  men,  a 
law  of  enfranchisement  would  but  detain  them  in 
what  they  would  then  call  their  GOOD  COUNTRY;  and 
which  they  would  prefer  to  lands  the  most  fertile;  for 
man  will  submit  to  everything  that  Providence  im- 
poses; he  only  murmurs  at  injustice  from  man,  to 
which,  if  he  does  submit,  it  is  with  a  rebellious  heart. 
Man  is  not  a  tree  rooted  to  the  earth  in  which  he 
grows;  therefore  pertains  not  to  the  soil.  He  is  nei- 
ther field,  meadow,  nor  brute;  therefore  cannot  be 
bought  and  sold.  He  has  an  interior  conviction  of 
these  simple  truths;  nor  can  he  be  persuaded  that  his 
chiefs  have  any  right  to  attach  him  to  the  glebe.  All 
powers  in  vain  unite  to  inculcate  a  doctrine  so  infa- 
mous. The  time  when  the  sovereign  of  the  earth 
might  conjure  him  in  the  name  of  God,  if  such  a  time 
ever  existed,  is  past;  the  language  of  justice  and  rea- 
son is  the  only  one  to  which  he  will  at  present  listen. 
Princes  cannot  too  often  recollect  that  English  Amer- 
ica enjoins  all  governments  to  be  just  and  sage,  if 
governors  do  not  wish  to  rule  over  deserts. 

Abolish,  SIRE,  the  traitcs  foraincs,  and  the  droits 
d'aubaine.  Of  what  benefit  to  you  can  such  remains 
of  feudal  barbarism  be  ?  Do  not  wait  for  a  system  of 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      373 

reciprocity,  which  never  has  any  other  effect  than  that 
of  longer  detaining  nations  in  a  state  of  folly  and 
warfare.  That  which  is  good  for  the  prosperity  of 
any  country  needs  no  reciprocity.  Objections  of  this 
kind  are  but  the  foolish  objections  of  vanity.  Should 
the  tyranny  which  is  exercised  over  man  and  property 
in  one  State  be  to  the  loss  of  another,  this  is  an  addi- 
tional reason  why  the  latter  should  put  an  end  to  such 
absurd  customs.  Similar  absurdities,  perhaps,  have 
obliged  its  own  subjects  to  seek  their  fortune  else- 
where, and  have  even  made  them  forbear  to  return 
and  bring  the  fruits  of  their  labors  back  to  the  coun- 
try that  gave  them  birth.  As  nothing  is  wanting  but 
that  some  one  should  begin,  how  noble,  how  worthy 
is  it  of  a  great  King  to  be  first!  Your  commercial 
subjects  who  are  somewhat  wealthy  could  not  acquire 
their  wealth  at  home,  they  were  obliged  to  seek  it  in 
foreign  countries ;  who,  therefore,  SIRE,  is  more  inter- 
ested than  you  are  to  set  the  example  of  abolition, 
where  to  exact  is  so  atrocious?  Have  England  and 
Holland  waited  to  renounce  such  rights  till  you  should 
have  renounced  them  in  their  behalf? 

One  of  the  most  urgent  changes  which  demands 
your  attention,  and  which  a  word  may  accomplish,  is 
a  law  to  restore  to  the  plebeians  the  liberty  to  purchase 
patrician  lands,  with  all  their  annexed  rights.  The 
execution  of  the  strange  decree  by  which  they  were 
deprived  of  this  liberty  has  been  so  iniquitously  in- 
flicted that,  if  a  patrician  estate  was  sold  for  debt, 
and  a  plebeian  was  desirous  of  paying  all  the  creditors, 
with  an  additional  sum  to  the  debtor,  he  was  not  al- 
lowed so  to  do,  without  an  express  order  from  the 
King.  This  order  was  generally  refused  by  your  pre- 
decessor; and  the  patrician  by  whom  the  creditors 
were  defrauded,  and  the  debtor  kept  without  resource, 
had  the  preference.  What  was  the  consequence  of  this 


374      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

absurd  law?  The  debasement  of  the  price  of  land, 
that  is  to  say,  of  the  first  riches  of  the  State,  and 
highly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  noble  landholders; 
the  decay  of  agriculture,  which  was  before  discour- 
aged by  so  many  other  causes,  and  of  credit  among 
the  gentry;  the  aggravation  of  that  fearful  prejudice 
which  wrongs  the  plebeian  and  renders  the  patrician 
stupid,  by  making  him  suppose  his  honorable  rights 
are  a  sufficient  source  of  respect,  and  that  he  need  not 
acquire  any  other;  in  fine,  the  absolute  necessity  that 
those  plebeians  should  quit  the  country  who  had  ac- 
quired any  capital;  for  they  could  not  employ  their 
money  in  trade,  that  being  ruined  by  monopoly;  nor 
in  agriculture,  because  they  were  not  allowed  to  hope 
they  ever  might  be  landholders.  Is  not  Mecklenburg 
full  of  the  traders  of  Stettin  and  Konigsberg,  etc., 
who  have  employed  the  wealth  they  gained,  during 
the  last  maritime  war,  in  the  purchase  of  the  estates 
of  the  ruined  nobility  of  that  country?  This,  SIRE, 
would  be  a  heavy  loss  to  you,  were  Mecklenburg  al- 
ways to  be  separated  from  your  kingdom;  a  loss 
beyond  the  powers  of  calculation,  were  the  same  regu- 
lations hereafter  to  subsist.  It  is  a  remark  which 
could  not  escape  sagacious  travelers,  that  wealthy 
merchants  have  delighted,  in  retirement,  to  betake 
themselves  to  agriculture.  The  most  barren  land  be- 
comes fruitful  in  their  possession.  They  labor  for  its 
improvement,  and  bear  with  them  that  spirit  of  order, 
that  circumstantial  precision,  by  which  they  grew  rich 
in  trade.  Wherever  merchants  can  purchase,  and 
wherever  trade  is  honorable,  there  the  country  flour- 
ishes, and  wears  the  face  of  abundance  and  prosperity. 
Commercial  industry  awakens  every  other  kind  of 
industry,  and  the  earth  requires  that  ingenious  till- 
age which  animates  vegetation  in  the  most  ungrateful 
soil.  Ah!  SIRE,  deign  to  recollect  this  tillage  never 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      375 

was  invented  on  patrician  lands;  for  this  we  are  in- 
debted to  those  countries  where  illustrious  birth  van- 
ishes when  merit  and  talents  appear. 

Abolish,  SIRE,  those  senseless  prerogatives  which 
bestow  great  offices  on  men  who,  to  speak  mildly,  are 
not  above  mediocrity;  and  which  are  the  cause  that 
the  greatest  number  of  your  subjects  take  no  interest 
in  a  country  where  they  have  nothing  to  hope  but  fet- 
ters and  humiliations.  Beware,  oh!  beware,  of  that 
universal  aristocracy  which  is  the  scourge  of  monar- 
chical States,  even  more  than  of  republics;  an  aris- 
tocracy by  which,  from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the 
other,  the  human  species  is  oppressed.  It  is  the  inter- 
est of  the  most  absolute  Monarch  to  promulgate  the 
most  popular  maxims.  The  people  do  not  dread  and 
revile  Kings ;  but  their  Ministers,  their  courtiers,  their 
nobles ;  in  a  word,  the  aristocracy.  "  OH,  DID  THE 
KING  BUT  KNOW  !  "  Thus  they  exclaim.  .They  daily 
invoke  the  royal  authority,  and  are  always  ready  to 
arm  it  against  aristocracy.  And  whence  is  the  power 
of  the  Prince  derived,  but  from  the  people;  his  per- 
sonal safety,  but  from  the  people;  his  wealth  and 
splendor,  but  from  the  people ;  those  benedictions  which 
alone  can  make  him  more  than  mortal,  but  from  the 
people?  And  who  are  the  enemies  of  the  Sovereign, 
but  the  grandees :  the  members  of  the  aristocracy,  who 
require  the  King  should  be  only  THE  FIRST  AMONG 
EQUALS,  and  who,  wherever  they  could,  have  left  him 
no  other  pre-eminence  than  that  of  rank,  reserving 
power  to  themselves?  By  what  strange  error  does  it 
happen  that  Kings  debase  their  friends,  whom  they 
deliver  up  to  their  enemies?  It  is  the  interest  and  the 
will  of  the  people  that  the  Prince  should  never  be  de- 
ceived. The  interest  and  the  will  of  the  nobility  are 
the  very  reverse.  The  people  are  easily  satisfied :  they 
give  and  ask  not.  Only  prevent  indolent  pride  from 


376      MEMOIRS   OF   THE  COURTS   OF 

bearing  too  heavily  upon  them;  leave  but  the  career 
open  which  the  Supreme  Being  has  pointed  out  to 
them  at  their  birth,  and  they  will  not  murmur.  Where 
is  the  Monarch  who  could  ever  satisfy  the  noble,  the 
rich,  the  great?  Do  they  ever  cease  to  ask?  Will 
they  ever  cease? 

SIRE,  equality  of  rights  among  those  who  support 
the  throne  will  form  its  firmest  basis.  Changes  of 
this  kind  cannot  be  suddenly  made;  yet  there  is  one  of 
these  which  cannot  be  too  suddenly :  let  no  person  who 
wishes  to  approach  the  throne,  whatever  may  be  his 
rank  in  life,  be  impeded  by  the  prerogatives  of  the 
great.  Let  men  feel  the  necessity  of  equal  merit  to 
obtain  preference.  It  is  for  you  to  level  distinctions, 
and  seat  merit  in  its  proper  place. 

Declare  open  war  on  the  prejudice  which  places  so 
great  a  distance  between  military  and  civil  functions. 
It  is  a  prejudice  which,  under  a  feeble  Prince,  such  as 
your  august  family,  like  every  other,  may  some  time 
produce,  will  expose  the  country,  and  the  Crown  itself, 
to  all  the  convulsions  of  pretorian  anarchy.  The  of- 
ficer and  the  soldier,  SIRE,  should  only  be  proud  in  the 
presence  of  the  foe.  To  their  countrymen  they  should 
be  brothers;  and,  if  they  defend  their  fellow-citizens, 
be  it  remembered  they  are  paid  by  their  fellow-citizens. 
In  a  kingdom  like  yours,  perhaps,  the  warrior  ought 
to  have  the  first  degree  of  respect ;  but  he  ought  not  to 
have  it  exclusively.  If  you  have  an  army  only  you 
will  never  have  a  kingdom.  Render  your  civil  officers 
more  respectable  than  they  were  under  your  prede- 
cessor. Nothing  is  more  just,  or  more  easy  to  accom- 
plish. The  Prince  who  reigns  over  the  affections  en- 
gages them  by  the  simplest  attentions.  Frederick  II. 
had  the  frenzy  of  continually  wearing  a  uniform,  as  if 
he  were  the  King  only  of  soldiers.  This  legionary 
habiliment  did  not  a  little  contribute  to  discredit  the 


BERLIN   AND   ST.    PETERSBURG      377 

civil  officer.  How  happened  it  he  never  felt  it  was 
impossible  a  Sovereign  should  render  men  estimable, 
for  whom  he  never  would  testify  esteem?  He  who 
attempts  to  make  those  incorruptible  to  whom  he  will 
not  assure  pecuniary  independence  will  be  equally  un- 
successful. Let  the  civil  officer  be  better  paid,  and 
never  forget,  SIRE,  that  ill  pay  is  ill  economy.  Among 
a  thousand  examples,  I  will  but  cite  the  enormous 
frauds  that  the  Prussian  Administrators  have,  for 
some  years,  committed  on  the  public  revenue.  By  an 
inconsistency,  which  is  important  in  its  effects,  the 
financiers  have  been  held  in  too  much  contempt,  and 
those  who  have  been  convicted  of  acts  the  most  dis- 
honest have  been  too  slightly  punished.  Such  par- 
tiality could  only  raise  the  indignation  of  the  poor, 
and  encourage  the  fraudulent,  who  soon  learned  that 
to  bribe  an  accomplice  was  to  diminish  the  danger. 

Prompt  and  gratuitous  justice  is  evidently  the  first 
of  Sovereign  duties.  If  the  Judge  have  no  interest 
to  elude  the  law,  and  can  receive  only  his  salary,  gratui- 
tous justice  is  soon  rendered,  and  will  be  equitable, 
should  your  inspection  be  active  and  severe,  and  should 
you  never  forget  that  severity  is  the  first  duty  of  Kings. 
This  grand  regulation  of  rendering  justice  entirely 
gratuitous  will,  fortunately,  not  become  burdensome 
in  your  States,  for  your  people  are  well  inclined,  and 
not  addicted  to  litigious  disputes.  But,  burdensome  or 
not,  that  which  is  strict  equity  is  always  necessary. 
Justice,  SIRE,  precedes  utility  itself;  or,  rather,  where' 
justice  is  not,  there  is  there  no  utility.  The  Judge 
ought  to  be  paid  by  the  public,  and  not  to  receive  fees. 
To  deny  this  were  absurd ;  for  must  not  Judges  subsist, 
though  there  should  not,  for  a  whole  year,  be  a  single 
lawsuit  ? 

Be  you,  SIRE,  the  first  to  render  the  administration 
of  justice  gratuitous. 


378      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Be  you  also  the  first  in  whose  States  all  men  who 
wish  to  labor  shall  find  work.  All  who  breathe  ought 
to  feed  by  labor.  It  is  the  first  law  of  Nature,  and 
prior  to  all  human  conventions.  It  is  the  bond  of 
society.  The  Government  that  should  neglect  to  mul- 
tiply the  products  of  the  earth,  and  that  should  not 
leave  to  each  individual  the  use  and  profits  of  his  in- 
dustry, would  be  the  accomplice  or  the  author  of  all 
the  crimes  of  men,  and  never  could  punish  a  culprit 
without  committing  a  murder;  for  each  man  who 
offers  labor  in  exchange  for  food,  and  meets  refusal, 
is  the  natural  and  legitimate  enemy  of  other  men,  and 
has  a  right  to  make  war  upon  society. 

Everywhere,  in  country  as  well  as  in  town,  let 
houses  of  industry  be  kept  open  at  the  expense  of 
Government;  that  any  man,  of  any  country,  may  there 
gain  his  livelihood  by  his  labor;  and  that  your  sub- 
jects there  may  be  taught  the  value  of  time  and  in- 
dustry. 

Such  institutions,  SIRE,  would  be  no  burden;  they 
would  pay  themselves.  They  would  open  a  road  to 
trade,  facilitate  the  sale  of  natural  products,  enrich 
your  lands,  and  improve  your  finances. 

Such,  SIRE,  are  the  institutions  which  become  a  great 
King;  and  not  manufactures  protected  by  exclusive 
privileges,  which  only  can  be  supported  by  injustice 
and  mountains  of  gold,  and  which  do  but  contribute  to 
enrich  a  very  small  number  of  men ;  or  to  endow  hospi- 
tals, which,  if  there  were  no  poor,  would  create  pau- 
pers. 

There  are,  alas !  too  many  poor  in  Prussia,  especially 
at  Berlin,  and  the  poverty  of  whom  demands  your  at- 
tention. In  your  capital  it  cannot  be  said  without  a 
painful  emotion,  a  tenth  of  the  inhabitants  receive 
public  alms;  and  this  number  annually  augments.  It 
is,  no  doubt,  necessary  to  limit  the  extent  of  cities, 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      379 

where  excessive  population  is  productive  of  the  worst 
consequences.  In  them  not  only  poverty  takes  birth, 
but  the  worst  of  poverty,  because  it  is  not  known 
how  it  may  be  remedied.  The  poor  of  cities  are  beings 
that  have  lost  all  good  properties,  moral  and  physical. 
But,  speaking  in  general,  the  best  opponent  to  this  in- 
creasing poverty  would  be  the  houses  of  industry  before 
mentioned,  where  all  men  who  have  arms  may  labor; 
and  not  those  useless  trades  which  are  wretched  in 
their  pomp,  and  serve  but  to  encourage  the  luxury  of 
splendor,  which  already  eats  up  your  kingdom;  nor 
those  hospitals,  fruitful  sources  of  depredation,  of 
benefit  only  to  their  directors,  which  engulf  sums  so. 
considerable;  while  your  schools,  especially  those  of 
the  open  country,  are  so  neglected  and  so  miserable 
that  the  salaries  of  some  of  the  headmasters  scarcely 
amount  to  fifteen  crowns  a  year.  Let  Your  Majesty  fit 
your  subjects  for  labor  by  a  proper  mode  of  instruction, 
and  they  will  have  no  need  of  hospitals. 

You  are  not  ignorant,  SIRE,  that  to  instruct  is  one 
of  the  most  important  duties  of  the  Sovereign,  as  it  is 
one  of  his  greatest  sources  of  wealth.  The  most  able 
man  could  do  nothing  without  forming  those  who  sur- 
round him,  and  whom  he  is  obliged  to  employ;  nor 
without  teaching  them  his  language,  and  familiarizing 
them  with  his  ideas  and  his  principles.  The  entire 
freedom  of  the  Press,  therefore,  ought  to  be  enumer- 
ated among  your  first  regulations,  not  only  because 
the  deprivation  of  this  freedom  is  a  deprivation  of 
natural  right,  but  because  that  all  impediment  to  the 
progress  of  the  human  understanding  is  an  evil,  an 
excessive  evil,  and  especially  to  yourself,  who  only  can 
enjoy  truth,  and  hear  truth,  from  the  Press,  which 
should  be  the  Prime  Minister  of  good  Kings. 

They  will  tell  you,  SIRE,  that  with  respect  to  the  free- 
dom of  the  Press  you  can  add  nothing  at  Berlin.  But 


380      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

to  abolish  the  censorship,  of  itself  so  useless,  and  al- 
ways so  arbitrary,  would  be  much.  If  the  printer's 
name  be  inserted  in  the  title-page  it  is  enough,  per- 
haps more  than  enough.  The  only  specious  objection 
against  an  unlimited  freedom  of  the  Press  is  the  licen- 
tiousness of  libels;  but  it  is  not  perceived  that  the  free- 
dom of  the  Press  would  take  away  the  danger,  because 
that,  under  such  a  regulation,  truth  only  would  re- 
main. The  most  scandalous  libels  have  no  power  ex- 
cept in  countries  that  are  deprived  of  the  freedom  of 
the  Press.  Its  restrictions  form  an  illicit  trade,  which 
cannot  be  extirpated;  yet  they  lay  restraints  on  none 
but  honest  people.  Let  not,  therefore,  that  absurd  con- 
trast be  seen  in  Prussia,  which  absolutely  forbids 
foreign  books  to  be  inspected,  and  subjects  national 
publications  to  so  severe  an  inquisition.  Give  freedom 
to  all.  Read,  SIRE,  and  suffer  others  to  read.  Knowl- 
edge will  everywhere  expand,  and  will  center  on 
the  throne.  Do  you  wish  for  darkness  ?  Oh,  no ! 
Your  mind  is  too  great.  Or,  if  you  did,  you  would 
wish  in  vain;  would  act  to  your  own  injury,  without 
obtaining  the  fatal  success  of  extinguishing  light.  You 
will  read,  SIRE;  you  will  begin  a  noble  association 
with  books;  books  that  have  destroyed  shameful  and 
cruel  prejudices ;  that  have  smoothed  your  paths ;  that 
were  beneficial  to  you  previous  even  to  your  birth. 
You  will  not  be  ungrateful  toward  the  accumulated 
labor  of  beneficent  genius.  You  will  read;  you  will 
protect  those  who  write ;  for  without  them  what  were, 
what  should  be,  the  human  species?  They  will  instruct, 
they  will  aid  you,  will  speak  to  you  unseen,  without  ap- 
proaching your  throne;  will  introduce  august  Truth 
to  your  presence,  who  shall  enter  your  palace  unes- 
corted, unattended;  and,  having  entered,  she  will  ask 
no  dignities,  no  titles,  but  will  remain  invisible  and 
disinterested.  You  will  read ;  but  you  would  wish  your 


BERLIN  AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      381 

people  should  read  also.  You  will  not  think  you  have 
done  enough  by  filling  your  academies  with  foreigners. 
You  will  found  schools,  especially  in  the  country,  and 
will  multiply  and  endow  them.  You  will  not  wish  to 
reign  in  darkness.  Say  but,  "  Let  there  be  light,"  and 
light  shall  appear  at  your  bidding;  while  her  divine 
beams  shall  shine  more  resplendent  round  your  head 
than  all  the  laurels  of  heroes  and  conquerors. 

There  is  a  devouring  plague  in  your  States,  SIRE, 
which  you  cannot  too  suddenly  extirpate ;  and  no  doubt 
this  good  deed  will  nobly  signalize  the  first  day  of 
your  accession  to  the  throne.  I  speak  of  the  lottery, 
which  would  but  be  the  more  odious  and  more  for- 
midable did  it  procure  you  the  wealth  of  worlds;  but 
which,  for  the  wretched  gain  of  fifty  thousand  crowns, 
hurries  the  industrious  part  of  your  subjects  into  all  the 
calamities  of  poverty  and  vice. 

You  will  be  told,  SIRE,  what  some  pretended  states- 
men have  not  blushed  to  write,  and  publish,  that  the 
lottery  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  voluntary  tax.  A 
tax?  And  what  a  tax!  One  whose  whole  products 
are  founded  either  on  delirium  or  despair.  What  a 
tax!  To  which  the  rich  landholder  is  not  obliged  to 
contribute.  A  tax  which  neither  wise  nor  good  men 
ever  pay.  A  voluntary  tax?  Strange  indeed  is  this 
kind  of  freedom!  Each  day,  each  minute,  the  people 
are  told  it  depends  only  on  themselves  to  become  rich 
for  a  trifle:  thousands  may  be  gained  by  a  shilling. 
So  the  wretch  believes  who  cannot  calculate,  and  who 
is  in  want  of  bread ;  and  the  sacrifice  he  makes  of  that 
poor  remaining  shilling  which  was  to  purchase  bread, 
and  appease  the  cries  of  his  family,  is  a  free  gift! — a 
tax,  which  he  pays  to  his  Sovereign! 

You  will  be  further  told — yes,  men  will  dare  to  tell 
you — that  this  horrible  invention,  which  empoisons 
even  hope  itself,  the  last  of  the  comforts  of  man,  is 


382      MEMOIRS   OF  THE   COURTS   OF 

indeed  an  evil ;  but  that  it  were  better  you  should  your- 
self collect  the  harvest  of  lottery  than  abandon  your 
subjects  to  foreign  lotteries.  Oh!  SIRE,,  cast  arithmetic 
so  corrupt,  and  sophisms  so  detestable,  with  horror 
from  you.  There  continually  are  means  of  opposing 
foreign  lotteries.  Secret  collectors  are  not  to  be 
feared.  They  will  not  penetrate  far  into  your  States 
when  the  pains  and  penalties  are  made  severe;  and  in 
such  instances  only  are  informers  encouraged  without 
inconvenience,  for  they  only  inform  against  an  am- 
bulatory pestilence.  The  natural  penalties  against  such 
as  favor  adventurers  in  foreign  lotteries  are :  infamy, 
an  exclusion  from  municipal  offices,  from  trading  com- 
panies, and  the  right  of  coming  on  'Change.  These 
penalties  are  very  severe,  and  no  doubt  sufficient;  yet  if 
violent  remedies  are  necessary  to  impede  the  progress 
of  such  a  crime,  the  punishment  of  death,  that  punish- 
ment at  which  my  mind  revolts  and  my  blood  is  frozen, 
that  punishment  so  prodigally  bestowed  on  so  many 
crimes,  and  which  perhaps  no  crime  can  merit,  would 
be  rendered  more  excusable  from  the  fearful  list  of 
wretchedness  and  disorder,  which  originate  in  lotteries, 
than  even  from  the  most  exaggerated  consequences  of 
domestic  theft. 

But,  SIRE,  the  great,  first,  and  immediate  operation 
which  I  supplicate  from  YOUR  MAJESTY,  in  the  name 
of  your  dearest  interest  and  glory,  is  a  quick  and 
formal  declaration,  accompanied  with  all  the  awful 
characteristics  of  sovereignty,  that  unlimited  toleration 
shall  prevail  through  your  States,  and  that  they  shall 
ever  remain  open  to  all  religions.  You  have  a  very 
natural,  and  not  less  estimable,  opportunity  of  making 
such  a  declaration.  Publish  an  edict  which  shall  grant 
civil  liberty  to  the  Jews.  This  act  of  beneficence,  at 
the  very  commencement  of  your  reign,  will  make  you 
surpass  your  illustrious  predecessor  in  religious  tolera- 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      383 

tion,  who  was  the  most  tolerant  Prince  that  ever  ex- 
isted. Nor  shall  this  excess  of  beneficence  be  without 
its  reward.  Exclusive  of  the  numerous  increase  to 
population,  and  the  large  capitals  which  Prussia  will 
infallibly  acquire,  at  the  expense  of  other  countries, 
the  Jews  of  the  second  generation  will  become  good 
and  useful  citizens.  To  effect  this  they  need  but  be  en- 
couraged in  the  mechanic  arts  and  agriculture,  which  to 
them  are  interdicted.  Free  them  from  those  additional 
taxes  by  which  they  are  oppressed.  Give  them  access 
to  the  courts  of  justice  equal  to  your  other  subjects,  by 
depriving  their  Rabbis  of  all  civil  authority.  Oh !  SIRE, 
I  conjure  you,  beware  of  delaying  the  declaration  of 
the  most  universal  tolerance.  There  are  fears  in  your 
provinces  of  rather  losing  than  gaining  in  this  re- 
spect. Apprehensions  are  entertained  concerning  what 
are  called  your  prejudices,  your  preconceived  opinions, 
your  doctrine.  This,  perhaps,  is  the  only  part  in  which 
you  have  been  seriously  attacked  by  calumny.  Sol- 
emnly prove  the  falsehood  of  those  who  have  affirmed 
you  are  intolerant.  Show  them  that  your  respect  for 
religious  opinions  equals  your  respect  for  the  great 
Creator,  and  that  you  are  far  from  desiring  to  pre- 
scribe laws  concerning  the  manner  in  which  He  ought 
to  be  adored.  Prove  that,  be  your  philosophic  or  relig- 
ious opinions  what  they  may,  you  make  no  pretensions 
to  the  absurd  and  tyrannical  right  of  imposing  opinions 
upon  others. 

After  these  preliminary  acts,  which,  I  cannot  too 
often  repeat,  may  as  well  be  performed  in  an  hour  as  in 
a  year,  and  which  consequently  ought  to  be  performed 
immediately,  a  glance  on  the  economical  and  political 
system  by  which  your  kingdom  is  regulated  will  lead 
you  to  other  considerations. 

It  is  a  most  remarkable  thing  that  a  man  like  your 
predecessor,  distinguished  for  the  extreme  justness  of 


384      MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OE 

his  understanding,  should  have  embraced  an  econom- 
ical and  political  system  so  radically  vicious.  In- 
direct taxes,  extravagant  prohibitions,  regulations  of 
every  kind,  exclusive  privileges,  monopolies  without 
number!  Such  was  the  spirit  of  his  domestic  govern- 
ment, and  to  a  degree  that,  besides  being  odious,  was 
most  ridiculous. 

Is  it  not  astonishing,  for  example,  that  a  man  like 
Frederick  II.,  could  waste  his  time  in  regulating,  in 
such  a  city  as  Berlin,  the  rates  that  should  be  paid  at 
inns;  the  pay  of  laqnais  de  lonagc,  and  the  value  of  all 
the  necessaries  of  life;  or  that  ever  he  should  conceive 
the  project  of  prohibiting  the  entrance  of  French  apples 
into  the  march  of  Brandenburg,  which  is  only  produc- 
tive of  wood  and  sands?  As  if  the  apples  of  his  prov- 
inces were  in  dread  of  rivals!  Thus,  too,  he  asked, 
when  he  prohibited  the  eggs  that  were  brought  from 
Saxony,  "  Cannot  my  hens  lay  eggs?  " — Could  he  for- 
get that  the  eggs  of  the  hens  of  Berlin  must  first  be 
eaten  before  the  inhabitants  would  send  as  far  as 
Dresden  for  others?  His  prohibition,  too,  of  the 
mouse  traps  of  Brunswick!  As  if  the  man  had  ever 
before  been  born  who  founded  his  hopes  of  fortune 
on  a  speculation  in  mouse  traps!  It  would  be  endless 
to  collect  all  his  singularities  of  this  kind.  Who  can 
reflect,  without  pain  and  pity,  that  four  hundred  and 
twelve  monopolies  exist  in  your  kingdom?  So  inter- 
woven was  this  equally  absurd  and  iniquitous  system 
with  the  spirit  of  the  government  of  Frederick  II.  Or 
that  a  great  number  of  these  monopolies  are  still  active ; 
at  least  that  the  prohibitive  ordinances  are  effective, 
which  bestowed  such  exclusive  privileges  on  persons 
many  of  whom  have  since  been  ruined,  and  have  be- 
come bankrupts  or  outlaws  ?  Or  that,  in  fine,  the  num- 
ber of  prohibited  commodities  greatly  exceeds  that  of 
commodities  that  are  permitted?  These  things  would 


BERLIN   AND   ST.   PETERSBURG      385 

appear  incredible  to  men  even  most  accustomed  to  in- 
dulge the  regulatory  and  fiscal  delirium.  Yet  thus  low 
could  even  a  great  man  sink,  who  was  desirous  of 
governing  too  much. 

Is  it  not  equally  astonishing  that  a  Monarch  so  active, 
so  industrious  in  his  royal  functions,  should  leave  the 
system  of  direct  taxation  exactly  in  the  state  in  which 
it  was  under  Frederick  L,  when  the  clergy  were  taxed 
at  a  fiftieth  of  their  income,  the  nobility  at  the  thirty- 
third,  and  the  people  at  the  seventeenth;  a  burden  at 
that  time  excessive,  but  which,  by  the  different  varia- 
tions in  value  and  the  signs  of  property,  is  almost  re- 
duced to  nothing?  So  that  industry  and  trade  have 
been  most  unmercifully  oppressed  by  your  predecessor, 
at  the  very  time  that  he  was  establishing  manufactures 
at  an  excessive  expense. 

How  might  this  same  King,  so  consistent  and  perti- 
nacious in  what  he  had  once  ordained,  at  the  time  that 
he  settled  new  colonies  by  granting  them  franchises  and 
the  right  of  property,  the  necessity  of  which  to  agricul- 
ture he  consequently  knew,  suffer  the  absurd  regula- 
tion to  subsist  which  excludes  all  right  of  property  in 
the  greatest  part  of  his  kingdom?  How  was  it  that  he 
did  not  feel  that,  instead  of  expending  sums  so  vast 
in  forming  colonies,  he  would  much  more  rapidly  have 
augmented  his  revenues  and  the  population  of  his 
provinces,  by  enfranchising  those  unfortunate  beasts 
of  burden  who,  under  the  human  form,  cultivate  the 
earth,  by  distributing  among  them  the  extensive  tracts 
called  domains  (which  absorb  almost  the  half  of  your 
estates)  in  proprietaries,  and  on  condition  of  paying 
certain  hereditary  quitrents  in  kind? 

All  these  particulars,  and  a  thousand  others  of  a  like 
kind,  are  strange,  no  doubt ;  yet  it  is  not  totally  impos- 
sible to  explain  such  eccentricities  of  mind  in  a  great 
man.  Without  entering  here  into  a  particular  inquiry 


386      MEMOIRS   OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

concerning  that  quality  of  mind  whence  it  resulted  that 
Frederick  II.  was  much  rather  a  singular  example  of 
the  development  of  great  character,  in  its  proper  place, 
than  of  an  elevated  genius,  bestowed  by  Nature,  and 
superior  to  other  men,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that,  having 
applied  the  whole  power  of  his  abilities  to  form  a  grand 
military  force,  with  provinces  that  were  disunited,  par- 
celed out  and  generally  unfruitful;  and,  for  that  pur- 
pose, wishing  to  outstrip  the  slow  march  of  Nature, 
he  principally  thought  of  money,  because  money  was 
the  only  engine  of  speed.  Hence  originated  with  him 
his  idolatry  of  money;  his  love  of  amassing,  realizing, 
and  heaping.  Those  fiscal  systems  which  most  effec- 
tually stripped  the  people  of  their  metal  were  those  in 
which  he  most  delighted.  Every  artifice,  every  fiscal 
extortion,  that  has  taken  birth  in  kingdoms  the  most 
luxurious,  which,  unfortunately,  in  this  as  in  other 
things,  gave  the  fashio'n  to  Europe,  were  by  turns 
naturalized  in  his  States.  Frederick  II.  was  the  more 
easily  led  to  pursue  this  purpose,  because  such  was  the 
situation  of  some  of  his  provinces  that  they  were  al- 
most necessarily  a  market  for  the  products  of  Saxony, 
Poland,  etc.,  and  thus  the  multiplicity  and  severity  of 
his  duties  were  less  rapidly  destructive  of  the  revenue 
arising  from  the  tolls.  Besides  that,  his  nation,  but 
little  active,  and  still,  perhaps,  tainted  by  the  Ger- 
manic improvidence  which  neglects  or  disdains  to 
save,  did  not  afford  him  any  other  immediate  resource 
than  what  might  be  found  in  the  Royal  Treasury.  He 
imagined  the  Prussians  were  in  need  of  being  goaded 
by  additions,  which,  however,  could  only  tend  to 
slacken  their  pace.  He  supposed  they  might  be  taught 
wisdom  by  monopolies;  as  if  monopolies  were  not  in- 
jurious to  the  progress  of  knowledge.  Having  taken 
his  first  steps,  his  unconquerable  spirit  of  consistency, 
which  was  his  distinguishing  characteristic;  the  multi- 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       387 

tude  of  his  affairs,  which  obliged  him  to  leave  whatever 
did  not  appertain  to  the  military  system  on  the  same 
basis,  and  with  similar  institutions,  in  which  he  found 
it;  his  habit  of  not  suffering  contradiction  nor  discus- 
sion; his  extreme  contempt  for  mankind,  which,  per- 
haps, will  explain  all  his  success,  all  his  errors,  all  his 
conduct;  his  confidence  in  his  own  superiority,  which 
confirmed  him  in  the  fatal  resolution  of  seeing  all,  of 
all  regulating,  all  ordaining,  and  personally  interfering 
in  all — these  various  causes  combined  have  rendered 
fiscal  robbery,  and  systematic  monopoly,  irrefragable 
and  sacred  in  his  kingdom ;  while  they  were  daily  ag- 
gravated by  his  despotic  temper  and  the  moroseness  of 
age. 

Evils  so  various  and  so  great  had  indeed  some  com- 
pensations. To  his  numerous  taxes  Frederick  II. 
joined  a  rigorous  economy.  He  raised  heavy  contri- 
butions on  his  enemies.  His  first  wars  were  paid  by 
their  money.  He  conquered  a  rich  province,  where 
great  and  wealthy  industry,  reduced  no  doubt  by  a 
government  more  sage  than  his,  had  previously  been 
established.  He  drew  subsidies  from  his  allies;  the 
folly  of  granting  which  is  no  longer  in  fashion.  Dur- 
ing four-and-twenty  years  of  peace,  he  enjoyed  a  de- 
gree of  respect  which  rather  resembled  worship  than 
dread.  He  continually  reserved,  in  his  States,  some 
part  of  the  money  he  extorted.  His  new  military  dis- 
cipline, a  species  of  industry  of  which  he  was  the 
creator,  not  a  little  contributed  to  his  puissance ;  and  his 
wealth,  in  the  midst  of  indebted  Europe,  would  have 
been  almost  sufficient  for  all  his  wishes;  for,  had  the 
ardor  of  his  ambition  longer  continued,  what  he  could 
not  have  conquered  he  would  have  bought  Who, 
indeed,  can  say  whether  Frederick  II.,  was  not  in- 
debted, for  a  great  part  of  his  domestic  success,  to  the 
deplorable  state  of  the  human  species  in  Germany; 

13 — Memoirs  Vol.  5 


388       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

through  most  of  the  States  of  which,  if  we  except 
Saxony,  the  inhabitants  were  still  more  wretched  than 
in  Prussia? 

Yet,  SIRE,  with  efforts  so  multiplied,  what  is  the  in- 
heritance that  has  been  left  you  by  this  great  King? 
Are  your  provinces  rich,  powerful  and  happy?  De- 
prive them  of  their  military  renown  and  the  respurces 
of  the  Royal  Treasury,  which  soon  may  vanish,  and 
feeble  will  be  the  remainder.  Had  the  provinces  of 
which  your  kingdom  is  composed  been  under  a  pater- 
nal government,  and  peopled  by  freemen,  the  acquisi- 
tion of  Silesia  might  have  been  more  distant;  but  how 
different  would  have  been  the  present  state  and  wealth 
of  the  whole  remaining  nation ! 

Your  situation,  SIRE,  is  entirely  different  from  that 
of  your  predecessor.  The  destructive  resources  of 
fiscal  regulation  are  exhausted.  A  change  of  system  is, 
for  this  reason,  indispensable.  An  army  cannot  always, 
cannot  long,  constitute  the  basis  of  the  Prussian  puis- 
sance. Your  army  must,  therefore,  be  supported  by  all 
the  internal  aids  which  good  administration  can  em- 
ploy, built  on  permanent  foundations.  It  is  necessary 
that  you  should  truly  animate  the  national  industry,  in 
ably  profiting  by  those  extraordinary  and  perishable 
means  which  have  been  transmitted  to  you  by  your 
predecessor.  These,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  you  may 
long  enjoy.  It  is  not,  therefore,  absurd  to  advise  you 
to  sow  in  order  that  you  may  reap.  Should  momentary 
sacrifices,  however  great,  be  necessary  to  render  the 
Prussian  States  (which  hitherto  have  only  constituted 
a  vast  and  formidable  camp)  a  stable  and  prosperous 
monarchy,  founded  on  freedom  and  property,  the  im- 
mensity of  your  treasure  will  render  such  sacrifices  in- 
finitely less  burdensome  to  you  than  they  would  be 
to  any  other  Sovereign,  and  the  barter  will  be  pro- 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       389 

digiously  to  your  advantage,  even  should  the  rendering 
of  men  happy  be  estimated  at  nothing. 

The  basis  of  the  system  which  it  is  your  duty,  SIRE, 
to  form,  must  rest  on  the  just  ideals  which  you  shall 
obtain  of  the  true  value  of  money,  which  is  t>ut  a 
trifling  part  of  national  wealth,  and  of  much  less  im- 
portance than  the  riches  which  annually  spring  from 
the  bosom  of  the  earth.  The  incorruptibility  and  the 
scarcity  of  gold  have  rendered  it  a  pledge,  and  a  mode 
of  exchange  between  man  and  man;  and  this  general 
use  is  the  chief  source  of  the  deceitful  opinions  that  are 
entertained  of  its  value.  The  facility  with  which  it 
may  be  removed,  when  men  are  obliged  to  fly,  especially 
from  places  where  tyranny  is  to  be  dreaded,  has  given 
every  individual  a  desire  of  amassing  gold;  and  the 
false  opinions  concerning  {hat  metal  have  been 
strengthened  by  this  universal  desire.  No.  less  true  is  it 
that,  gold  being  an  engine  or  agent  in  trade,  and  that 
the  multiplicity  of  agents  is  the  increase  of  trade,  and 
still  further  that  the  increase  of  trade  is  the  prosperity 
of  nations,  to  imprison  gold,  or  to  act  so  as  to  oblige 
others  to  imprison  it,  is  madness.  What  would  you  say 
of  a  Prince  who,  desiring  to  become  a  conqueror, 
should  keep  his  army  shut  up  in  barracks  ?  Yet  Kings 
who  amass  gold  act:  precisely  thus.  They  render 
that  lifeless  which  is  of  no  value  except  when  in 
•motion. 

But  just  ideas  concerning  the  value  of  gold  are  neces- 
sarily connected  with  those  of  the  government  that 
shall  respect  property,  and  shall  pursue  principles  of 
rigorous  justice;  such  as  shall  inspire  unshaken  con- 
fidence, and  render  to  each  individual  the  most  perfect 
security;  for,  without  this,  the  true  use  of  gold  is 
traversed  by  innumerable  accidents,  that  deprive  it  of 
the  utility  which  would  otherwise  render  national  in- 
dustry so  fruitful. 


390       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

Whatever  you  may  do,  SIRE,  to  inspire  confidence, 
it  still  remains  for  you  to  observe  that  nations  have 
commercial  connections;  and  that  gold  forms  one  of 
those,  because  of  its  necessity  to  trade.  It  must  flow 
here  or  there,  according  to  the  indefinite  combinations 
of  merchants.  Hence  no  nation  can  unite  sound  opin- 
ions concerning  trade  with  restraint  on  the  exportation 
of  gold.  Each  man  must  finally  pay  his  debts,  and  no 
person  gives  or  receives  gold,  from  which  little  is  to 
be  gained,  except  when  every  means  of  paying  in 
merchandise  is  exhausted;  for  from  these,  profits  are 
derived  to  buyer  and  seller.  What  would  you  think, 
SIRE,  of  a  Prince  who  should  encourage  the  merchants 
of  his  kingdom  to  establish  numerous  manufactures, 
consequently  to  employ  numerous  agents,  yet  should 
forbid  those  agents  to  leave  the  kingdom  that  they 
might  purchase  the  materials  of  which  the  manufac- 
turers stand  in  need  ?  This,  however,  is  the  picture  of 
the  Prince  who  should  prevent,  or  lay  restraint  on,  the 
exportation  of  gold ;  such  would  his  frenzy  be.  But  in 
what  does  this  originate  ?  In  his  fear  that  the  gold  will 
never  come  back.  And  wherefore?  Because  he  se- 
cretly feels  that  his  subjects  are  not  perfectly  secure 
of  their  property.  Thus,  SIRE,  you  perceive  justice, 
security,  respect  for  men,  and  a  declaration  of  war 
against  all  tyranny,  are  indispensable  conditions  to 
every  play  of  prosperity. 

When  your  subjects  shall  be  at  ease  in  this  respect, 
entertain  no  apprehensions  should  gold  seem  to  vanish ; 
it  is  but  gone  in  search  of  gold,  and  to  return  with  in- 
crease. Forget  not,  SIRE,  that  the  value  of  gold  is  lost, 
irretrievably,  when  it  is  not  absolutely  subjected  to  the 
will  of  trade,  which  alone  is  its  monarch.  By  trade  I 
here  understand  the  general  action  of  all  productive 
industry,  from  the  husbandman  to  the  artist. 

What  has  been  done  in  kingdoms  where  the  security 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       391 

of  the  citizen  is  perfect,  and  where  men  have  been  con- 
vinced that  gold  never  can  be  fixed,  nor  acquired  in 
sufficient  abundance  for  the  supply  of  exchange  ?  Why, 
in  such  kingdoms,  banks  have  been  imagined,  and  bills' 
have  been  brought  into  circulation,  which,  from  the 
conviction  that  they  may  at  any  time  be  turned  into 
specie,  have  become  a  kind  of  coin,  which  not  being 
universal  has  been  an  internal  substitute  for  gold,  and 
induced  men  not  to  disturb  themselves  concerning  its 
external  circulation. 

Of  such  establishments  you,  SIRE,  should  be  ambi- 
tious. Happy  the  State  in  which  the  Sovereign,  having 
habituated  his  subjects  to  the  opinion  of  perfect  inter- 
nal security,  can  cause  sufficient  sums  to  issue  from  his 
treasury  for  the  establishment  of  such  banks,  to  his 
own  advantage.  How  many  fiscal  inventions,  pro- 
duced by  the  spirit  of  pilfering,  under  the  protection 
of  ignorance  and  the  laws,  how  many  absurd  and  tyran- 
nical taxes  might  be  annihilated,  by  gaining  the  interest 
of  that  money  of  which  this  confidential  currency 
should  be  the  representative  ?  And  what  tax  ever  could 
be  more  mild,  more  natural,  more  productive,  or  more 
agreeable  to  the  Monarch,  than  the  interest  of  money 
which  he  may  gain  by  a  currency  which  cost  him 
nothing?  Such  a  tax  is  cheerfully  paid,  for  industry 
is  the  borrower;  and,  wherever  industry  finds  its  re- 
ward, each  individual  wishes  to  be  industrious. 

The  outline  I  have  here  traced,  and  which  you,  SIRE, 
may  strengthen  by  so  many  circumstances  of  which  I 
am  ignorant,  and  by  so  many  others  that  would  be 
too  tedious  to  recapitulate  at  present,  will  naturally 
lead  you — 

i.  To  the  distribution  of  your  immense  domains 
among  husbandmen,  whom  you  will  supply  with  the 
sums  they  want,  and  who  will  become  real  landholders, 
that  shall  pay  a  perpetual  quitrent  in  kind,  in  order  that 


392       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

your   revenues   may   augment   in   proportion   to    the 
augmentation  of  wealth. 

2.  To  the  due  lowering  (till  such  time  as  they  may 
be  wholly  abolished)  of  indirect  taxes,  excise  duties, 
customs,  etc.,  the  product  of  which  will  continually  in- 
crease in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the  quantity  of  the  duty 
and  the  vigor  with  which  it  is  collected;   for  illicit 
trade,  excited  by  too  tempting  lures,  gains  protectors 
among  those  by  whom  it  ought  to  be  repressed,  and 
agents  who  had  been  appointed  its  opponents.     Such 
disastrous  taxes  might  likewise  find  substitutes  in  the 
natural  and  just  increase  of  direct  taxes;  as  on  land, 
from  which  no  estate  ought  to  be  free ;  for  land  finally 
bears  the  whole  burden  of  taxation,  which  burden  is 
the  heavier  the  more  the  means  of  laying  it  on  are  in- 
direct.   How  many  disputes,  shackles,  inquisitions,  and 
disorders  wrould  then  vanish !    Plagues  which  are  more 
odious,  more  oppressive,  than  the  burden  of  the  tax 
itself;  and  even  more  intolerable  from  the  mode  df  as- 
sessment than   from  the  value!     That  artificial  vice 
which,  before  the  last  reign,  was  unknown  in  your 
kingdom,  the  vice  of  illicit  trade,  which  makes  deceit 
the  basis   of  commerce,   depraves   the   manners,   and 
inspires  a  general  contempt  for  the  laws,  then  would 
disappear.    To  the  regions  of  hell  itself  would  then  be 
banished  the  infernal  power  which  your  predecessor 
conferred  on  the  administrators  of  excise  duties  and 
tolls,  of  arbitrarily  increasing  the  penalties  and  punish- 
ments inflicted  on  smugglers. 

3.  You  will  firmly  and  invariably  determine  on  the 
system  of  favoring,  by  every  possible  means,  the  TRAN- 
SIT TRADE,  which  must  find  new  roads  should  foreign- 
ers longer  be  vexed ;  or  rather,  has  already  found  riew 
roads.      The    impositions    and   minute   examinations, 
which  are  occasioned  by  the  manner  of  levying  duties 
on  this  trade,  and  the  fatal  vigilance  that  has  been 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       393 

employed  not  to  suffer  contraband  goods  to  find  en- 
trance at  the  fair  of  Frankfort  on  the  Oder,  has  pro- 
duced this  fatal  effect,  that  the  Poles,  who  formerly 
carried  on  a  very  considerable  trade  at  Frankfort  and 
at  Breslau,  at  present  totally  avoid  both  places,  and 
condemn  themselves  to  a  circuit  of  near  a  hundred 
German  miles  through  a  great  part  of  Poland,  Moravia, 
and  Bohemia,  that  they  may  arrive  at  Leipsic;  for 
which  reason  this  last  city,  which  is  much  less  favor- 
ably situated  than  Frankfort  on  the  Oder,  where  there 
is  a  great  river,  has  within  these  fifteen  years  become 
flourishing;  while  the  former,  from  the  same  cause, 
has  fallen  to  decay;  which  decay  continues  increasing, 
and  that  at  the  very  moment  when  the  revolution 
in  America  threatens  the  North  with  so  powerful  a 
rivalship.  Profit,  SIRE,  by  the  last  stage  in  which  per- 
haps, the  transit  trade  can  be  an  object  of  any  impor- 
tance. Favor  it  by  taking  off  the  chief  of  the  duties 
which  shackle  it  at  present,  and  impart  a  confidence 
befitting  of  your  candor  and  generous  benevolence. 
How  might  you  find  a  more  fortunate  moment  in 
which  to  manifest  such  intentions  than  that  wherein 
your  neighbors  are  signalizing  themselves  by  so  many 
prohibitive  frenzies? 

4.  To  you,  SIRE,  is  reserved  the  real  and  singular 
honor  of  abolishing  monopolies,  which  are  no  less  in- 
jurious to  good  sense  than  to  equity;  and  which,  in 
your  kingdom,  are  so  perpetual  a  source  of  hatred  and 
malediction.  The  Prussian  merchants,  incited  by  the 
example  of  monopolizing  companies  (Nature,  desirous 
of  preserving  the  human  race,  ever  causes  evil  itself 
to  produce  good),  and,  thanks  to  the  excellent  situa- 
tion of  your  States,  have  made  some  progress,  in  des- 
pite of  every  effort  to  stifle  their  industry,  on  the  first 
ray  of  hope  that  monopolies  should  disappear;  and 
these  merchants  will,  by  voluntary  contributions,  af- 


394       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

ford  a  substitute  for  a  part  of  the  deficiency  which 
the  new  system  may  at  first  occasion  in  your  revenues. 
5.  You  will,  finally,  arrive  at  the  greatest  of  bene- 
fits, and  at  the  most  useful  of  speculations  in  politics 
and  finance.  You  will  set  industry,  arts,  manufactures, 
and  commerce  free;  commerce,  which  only  can  exist 
under  the  protection  of  freedom;  commerce,  which 
prefers  no  request  to  Kings  except  not  to  do  it  an  in- 
jury. When  you  shall  seriously  have  examined  wheth- 
er those  manufactures  which  never  can  support  a 
foreign  rivalship  deserve  to  be  encouraged  at  an  ex- 
pense so  heavy,  prohibitions  will  then  presently  van- 
ish from  your  States.  The  linens  of  Silesia  never 
were  otherwise  favored  than  by  exempting  the  weav- 
ers from  military  enrollment;  and,  of  all  the  objects 
of  Prussian  trade,  these  linens  are  the  most  important. 
In  none  of  your  provinces  are  any  manufactures  to 
be  found  more  flourishing  than  in  that  of  Westphalia ; 
namely,  in  the  county  of  Marck;  yet  never  has  Gov- 
ernment done  anything  to  encourage  the  industry  of 
this  province,  except  in  not  inflicting  internal  vexa- 
tions. I  repeat,  internal,  for  all  the  products  of  the 
industry  of  Prussian  subjects,  beyond  the  Weser,  are 
accounted  foreign  and  contraband,  in  all  the  other 
provinces;  which  odious  and  absurd  iniquity  you  will 
not  suffer  to  subsist.  You  will  enfranchise  all,  SIRE, 
and  will  grant  no  more  exclusive  privileges.  Those 
who  demand  them  are  generally  either  knaves  or  fools ; 
and  to  acquiesce  in  their  requests  is  the  surest  method 
of  strangling  industry.  If  such  are  found  in  England, 
it  is  because  the  form  in  which  they  are  granted  ren- 
ders them  almost  null.  In  Ireland  they  are  no  longer 
admitted.  The  Government  and  the  Dublin  Society 
afford  support  and  give  bounties,  *but  on  condition 
that  no  exclusive  privilege  is  asked.  The  most  mag- 
nificent, as  well  as  the  most  certain,  means  of  possess- 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       305 

ing  everything  Nature  bestows  is  freedom,  SIRE.  It 
is  the  prodigality  with  which  she  bestows  that  attracts 
men,  by  moral  feeling  and  physical  good.  All  exclu- 
sive grants  wound  the  first,  and  banish  the  second. 

I  entreat,  SIRE,  you  would  remark  that  I  do  not  pro- 
pose you  should  suddenly,  and  incautiously,  lop  away 
all  the  parasite  suckers  which  disfigure  and  enfeeble 
the  royal  stock  which  you  were  born  to  embellish  and 
strengthen;  but  I  likewise  conjure  you  not  to  be  im- 
peded by  the  fear  of  meeting  your  collectors  with 
empty  hands ;  for  this  fear,  being  solely  occupied  con- 
cerning self,  they  will  not  fail  to  increase.  The  only 
man  among  them  who  really  possesses  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  general  connections,  of  commerce, 
and  from  whom  you  may  expect  able  services,  when- 
ever your  system  shall  invariably  be  directed  to  obtain 
other  purposes  than  those  to  which  his  talents  have 
hitherto  been  prostituted,  STRUENSEE,  will  confirm  all 
my  principles.  He  will  indicate  various  means  to 
Your  Majesty,  which  may  serve  as  substitutes  to  fiscal 
extortions.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  commutation  of 
duties,  which  is  a  new  art,  may,  under  the  direction 
of  a  man  so  enlightened,  greatly  increase  your  rev- 
enues by  lightening  the  public  burden. 

England,  formed  to  afford  lessons  to  the  whole 
earth,  and  to  astonish  the  human  mind  by  demonstrat- 
ing the  infinite  resources  of  credit,  in  support  of  which 
everything  is  made  to  concur — England  has  lately 
made  a  fine  and  fortunate  experiment  of  this  kind. 
She  has  commuted  the  duties  on  tea  by  a  tax  on  win- 
dows, and  the  success  is  wonderful.  Acquire  a  clear 
knowledge  of  this  operation,  SIRE.  It  is  preserved, 
with  all  the  effects  it  has  produced,  in  a  work  which 
will  open  vast  prospects  to  your  view.  Your  general- 
izing mind  will  take  confidence  in  the  industry  of  the 
honest  man,  and  in  the  resources  of  his  sensibility, 


396       MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COURTS  OF 

aided  by  experience  and  talents;  though  the  misfortune 
of  heavy  taxes  and  the  vicious  mode  of  assessment 
should  necessarily  be  prolonged. 

But,  SIRE,  were  you  obliged  to  accept  that  heavy 
interest  which  Powers  in  debt  are  obliged  to  pay,  as  a 
substitute  for  duties  that,  though  destructive,  are  not 
commutable,  where  would  be  the  misfortune?  What 
advantage  might  not  result  from  treasures  employed 
to  obtain  the  payment  of  interest  by  which  monarchies 
the  most  formidable  are  enfeebled?  Wherefore  not 
seize  the  means  which  they  themselves  furnish  at  their 
own  expense,  no  longer  to  stand  in  awe  of  them  ?  Do 
not  you  perceive,  SIRE,  that  you  would  thus  without 
danger  make  them  pay  you  tribute?  For  the  govern- 
ments which  might  be  mad  enough  to  wish  to  rob  their 
creditors  would  be  unable,  thanks  to  the  general  in- 
tercourse of  trade. 

It  remains  to  inquire  to  whom  you  would  confide 
labors  so  difficult,  yet  so  interesting.  It  is  not  for  a 
stranger  to  estimate  the  worth  of  your  subjects.  Yet, 
SIRE,  is  there  one  whose  talents  are  esteemed  in  France 
and  England,  and  him,  therefore,  I  may  venture  to 
name.  Baron  Knyphausen  is  well  acquainted  with 
men  and  things,  in  those  countries  in  which  he  has 
served,  and  particularly  with  the  system  of  the  public 
funds. 

But  more  especially,  SIRE,  summon  the  merchants. 
Among  them  are  most  commonly  found  probity  and 
abilities.  From  them  is  derived  the  theory  of  order; 
and  without  order  what  can  be  accomplished?  They 
are  in  general  men  of  moderation,  divested  of  pomp, 
and  for  that  reason  merit  preference.  Be  persuaded, 
SIRE,  that  the  most  enlightened,  the  most  wise,  and 
the  most  humane  of  mankind,  would  depart  from  you 
were  their  reward  to  consist  in  the  vain  decorations 
which  titles  bestow.  These  cannot  be  accepted  with- 


BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG       397 

out  trampling  on  principles  to  which  men  are  indebted 
for  the  glory  of  having  merited  reward;  nor  without 
paying  with  contempt  the  class  they  honor.  The  mer- 
chant who  is  worthy  of  your  confidence  will  dread 
making  himself  guilty  of  such  ingratitude  toward  his 
equals ;  and  this  is  one  of  the  characteristics  by  which 
he  will  be  distinguished.  In  the  title  of  Lord  Chatham 
the  great  Pitt  expired;  nor  did  the  lord  ever  console 
himself  for  having  acted  thus  traitorously  toward  his 
own  glory.  The  services  of  the  merchants  you  may 
employ,  far  from  multiplying,  must  destroy  the  mon- 
strous inequalities  which  disorganize  and  deform  your 
States.  Thus  will  men  like  these  find  their  reward, 
and  not  in  silly  titles,  or  the  vain  decorations  of 
nobility. 

But,  SIRE,  I  have  too  long  intruded  upon  the  pre- 
cious moments  in  which  the  scepter  has  so  lately  been 
confided  to  your  hands.  What  can  I  add  which  your 
own  reflections,  increased  by  facts  that  daily  must  fall 
under  your  notice,  will  not  convey  a  thousand  times 
more  forcibly  than  any  words  of  mine  can?  I  have' 
imagined  it  might  not  be  wholly  fruitless  to  awaken 
these  ideas  at  the  moment  of  a  change  so  new,  un.der 
a  variety  of  affairs  so  great,  and  a  multitude  of  inter- 
ests and  intrigues  which  must  traverse  and  combat 
each  other  round  your  throne,  and  which  may  deprive 
you  of  that  calm  of  mind  that  is  necessary  to  abstract 
and  to  select.  Should  you  in  any  degree  be  affected 
by  my  frankness,  I  dare  hope  it  will  not  be  unpleas- 
antly. Mediate,  O  FREDERICK!  on  this  free,  sincere, 
but  respectful  remonstrance,  and  deign  to  say: 

"  Here  I  find  what  no  man  has  informed  me  of,  and 
perhaps  the  reverse  of  what  I  shall  be  daily  told. 
The  most  courageous  present  truth  to  Kings  under  a 
veil;  I  here  behold  her  naked.  This  is  more  worthy 
of  me  than  the  venal  incense  of  rhymers,  with  which 


398       BERLIN  AND  ST.  PETERSBURG 

I  am  suffocated;  or  academical  panegyrics,  which  as- 
saulted me  in  the  cradle,  and  scarcely  will  quit  me  in 
the  coffin.  I  was  a  man  before  I  was  a  King.  Where- 
fore then  take  offense  at  being  treated  like  a  man ;  or 
because  a  stranger,  who  asks  nothing  from  me,  and 
who  soon  will  quit  my  Court,  never  to  behold  it  more, 
speaks  to  me  without  disguise?  He  lays  before  me 
what  inspection,  experience,  study,  and  understanding 
have  collected.  He  gratis  gives  me  that  true  and  lib- 
eral advice  of  which  no  man  stands  so  much  in  need 
as  he  who  is  devoted  to  the  public  good.  Interest  to 
deceive  me  he  has  none ;  his  intentions  cannot  be  evil. 
Let  me  attentively  examine  what  he  has  proposed ;  for 
the  simple  good  sense,  the  native  candor  of  the  man, 
whose  only  employment  is  the  cultivation  of  reason 
and  reflection,  may  well  be  of  equal  value  with  the  old 
routine  of  habit,  artifice,  forms,  diplomatic  chimeras, 
add  the  ridiculous  dogmas  of  those  who  are  states- 
men by  trade." 

May  the  eternal  Disposer  of  human  events  watch 
over  your  welfare;  may  your  days  be  beneficent  and 
active;  employed  in  those  consolatory  duties  which 
elevate  and  fortify  the  soul;  and  may  you,  till  the  ex- 
tremest  old  age,  enjoy  the  pure  felicity  of  having 
employed  your  whole  faculties  for  the  prosperity  of 
the  people  for  whose  happiness  you  are  responsible, 
for  to  you  their  happiness  is  intrusted! 


THE  END 


J 


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